Alynt 404 & Sitemap WP Registry grade A. No security issues foundWP RegistryNo security issues foundOpen the reportA

Enhanced 404 error handling and dynamic sitemap generation with extensive customization options.

Description

Alynt 404 & Sitemap provides a comprehensive solution for handling 404 errors and creating dynamic sitemaps on your WordPress website.

Requirements

• WordPress 5.8 or later
• PHP 7.4 or later
• Pretty permalinks enabled for the custom sitemap route

Key Features

Custom 404 Page

• AJAX-powered search functionality
• Configurable quick links
• Mobile-responsive design
• Keyboard-friendly and accessible interactions

Dynamic Sitemap

• Automatic content organization
• Per-post-type sort controls
• Customizable column layout
• Post type filtering
• Content and private-path exclusion options

Extensive Customization

• Color scheme customization
• Custom CSS options
• SEO meta descriptions
• Supported SEO metadata adapters
• Responsive layout controls

404 Page Features

• Customizable heading and error message
• AJAX search with post type filtering
• Configurable quick link buttons
• Mobile-responsive design
• Custom CSS options
• SEO meta description

Sitemap Features

• Automatic content organization
• Per-post-type sort order
• Configurable column layout
• Post type filtering
• Content exclusion
• Custom URL slug
• Custom CSS options
• SEO meta description

Accessibility

• Keyboard navigation support
• Screen reader-friendly labels and status updates
• ARIA attributes and accessible validation messaging
• Focus-managed confirmation flows in the admin UI
• Proper heading hierarchy

Installation

1. Upload the plugin files to /wp-content/plugins/alynt-404-sitemap
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' screen in WordPress
3. Configure settings under '404 & Sitemap' in the admin menu

Usage

After activation, open 404 & Sitemap in the WordPress admin menu and configure the three tabs:

• General: shared color palette for buttons, links, headings, and search UI
• 404: heading, message, quick links, search post types, featured image setting, meta description, and custom CSS
• Sitemap: heading, message, URL slug, included post types, per-post-type sort order, excluded IDs, responsive columns, featured image setting, meta description, and custom CSS

The sitemap becomes available at /{url_slug} using the slug saved in the Sitemap tab. If the requested slug conflicts with an existing route, the plugin automatically adjusts it to an available value during sanitization.

If The SEO Framework or Slim SEO is active, the 404 and sitemap featured-image settings are used as social preview sources for those Alynt routes. Alynt still does not emit Open Graph or Twitter tags directly.

Developers can also exclude private path fragments from sitemap output and 404 search results with the alynt_404_excluded_url_path_fragments filter documented in docs/HOOKS.md.

Documentation

• Administrator guide: docs/admin-guide.md
• Settings reference: docs/SETTINGS.md
• Hooks reference: docs/HOOKS.md

Development

• Editable source assets live in assets/src/.
• Runtime assets are served from assets/dist/.
• Run npm install once, then npm run build before testing or packaging the plugin.
• Use npm run dev while working on assets if your environment supports watch mode.
• PHP tooling is configured through Composer in composer.json.

Release Checklist

1. Run composer install.
2. Run npm install.
3. Run npm run build.
4. Verify the generated files in assets/dist/ are up to date.
5. Create the release package or publish the GitHub release.

Examples

• Use the 404 tab to add quick links back to key landing pages when visitors hit a missing URL.
• Use the Sitemap tab to exclude utility pages or private landing pages by ID while still exposing your main site structure.
• Use the General tab to align the plugin UI colors with your theme without editing template files.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I customize the colors to match my theme?

Yes, the plugin includes a comprehensive color customization system in the General settings tab.

How do featured images work for the 404 page and sitemap?

The 404 and Sitemap tabs both include featured image settings in the admin UI. The bundled templates still do not display those images directly, but when The SEO Framework or Slim SEO is active, Alynt passes the route title, description, and featured image data to that SEO plugin so it can emit the social preview tags for the Alynt sitemap and 404 routes. Alynt itself still avoids direct Open Graph and Twitter output. The sitemap route is the most reliable target for share previews; true 404 URLs remain best effort because many platforms do not unfurl HTTP 404 responses consistently.

How do I exclude specific pages from the sitemap?

In the Sitemap settings tab, you can enter comma-separated page/post IDs in the "Excluded Content" field.

Can I change the sitemap URL?

Yes, you can customize the sitemap URL slug in the Sitemap settings tab.

Is the plugin accessibility compliant?

The plugin includes keyboard navigation, ARIA attributes, screen-reader-friendly labels and status updates, and accessible validation and confirmation flows across the admin and frontend interfaces.

Does the plugin support custom CSS?

Yes, both the 404 page and sitemap support custom CSS through their respective settings tabs, allowing you to further customize their appearance beyond the built-in options.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for detailed release history and the latest release notes.

Credits

• Alynt for the plugin
• WordPress core APIs for settings, routing, templating, and media integration

License

This plugin is licensed under the GPL v2 or later.

GPLv2 License