Customising the Redirect Screen in WebberZone Link Warnings

This article is intended for advanced users and developers who want to modify the behaviour of the Redirect screen in WebberZone Link Warnings.

When the warning method is set to Redirect screen or Inline indicators + Redirect screen, clicking an external link opens an interstitial page before the user reaches the external destination. This page shows the destination URL, a message, and a countdown timer.

How the redirect screen works

1. The plugin registers a rewrite rule that maps external-redirect/ to a custom query variable.
2. When a user clicks a processed external link, the frontend JavaScript navigates to yoursite.com/external-redirect/?url=<encoded-url>.
3. On template_redirect, the plugin validates the destination URL, confirms it is external, and renders the redirect template.
4. A separate JavaScript file (redirect.js) starts a countdown timer. When the countdown reaches zero, the browser automatically redirects to the external URL.
5. If the user clicks anywhere on the page (except the “Continue to site” button) or presses any key (except Tab), the automatic countdown is cancelled.

Redirect URL structure

The redirect URL is generated by Redirect_Handler::get_redirect_url():

https://yoursite.com/external-redirect/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fpage

The destination URL is passed as a url query parameter, encoded with rawurlencode().

Open redirect protection

The plugin validates that the destination URL:

• Passes filter_var() with FILTER_VALIDATE_URL.
• Points to a host that differs from the site host (i.e. it is genuinely external).

If validation fails, the user is redirected to the site home page via wp_safe_redirect().

Template override

The default template is located at:

includes/templates/redirect-screen.php

To override it, copy the file to your theme (or child theme):

your-theme/webberzone-link-warnings/redirect-screen.php

The plugin checks for the template in the following order:

1. your-theme/webberzone-link-warnings/redirect-screen.php
2. your-theme/webberzone-link-warnings/redirect.php
3. The plugin’s built-in template.

This uses WordPress’s locate_template(), so child themes take priority over parent themes.

Available template variables

The following variables are available inside the redirect template:

Writing a custom template

A minimal custom template:

<?php
/**
 * Custom redirect screen template.
 *
 * @var string $destination Destination URL.
 * @var string $message     Redirect message.
 * @var string $domain      Destination domain.
 * @var int    $countdown   Countdown in seconds.
 */

if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) {
    exit;
}

get_header();
?>
<div class="my-redirect-page">
    <h1>Leaving this site</h1>
    <p><?php echo esc_html( $message ); ?></p>
    <p>Destination: <strong><?php echo esc_html( $domain ); ?></strong></p>
    <p><a href="<?php echo esc_url( $destination ); ?>" rel="noopener noreferrer">Continue to site</a></p>
    <p><a href="<?php echo esc_url( wp_get_referer() ? wp_get_referer() : home_url() ); ?>">Go back</a></p>

    <?php if ( $countdown > 0 ) : ?>
        <p class="wzlw-redirect-countdown" aria-live="polite">
            Redirecting automatically in <span class="wzlw-countdown-number"><?php echo esc_html( $countdown ); ?></span> seconds...
        </p>
    <?php endif; ?>
</div>
<?php
get_footer();

The countdown JavaScript targets .wzlw-countdown-number to update the displayed number. If you remove or rename this class, the visual countdown will stop updating, though the redirect itself still fires after the configured duration.

Countdown behaviour

The countdown is handled by redirect.js, which is enqueued automatically on the redirect page. It reads its configuration from a localised JavaScript object:

wzlwRedirect.destination // The external URL.
wzlwRedirect.countdown   // The countdown duration in seconds.

Disabling auto-redirect

Set Redirect Countdown to 0 in the plugin settings. The countdown element will not be rendered, and the JavaScript will not start a timer. The user must click “Continue to site” manually.

Cancelling the countdown

The countdown is cancelled automatically if the user:

• Clicks anywhere on the page (except the “Continue to site” link).
• Presses any key except Tab.

This prevents the redirect from firing while the user is interacting with the page.

Redirect screen assets

The plugin enqueues the following assets on the redirect page only:

Both assets respect SCRIPT_DEBUG (loading unminified versions when enabled) and is_rtl() (loading RTL stylesheets when appropriate).

If you are using a fully custom template and do not need the default styles, you can dequeue them:

add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', function () {
    if ( get_query_var( 'wzlw_redirect' ) ) {
        wp_dequeue_style( 'wzlw-redirect' );
    }
}, 20 );

Keep the JavaScript enqueued to ensure the countdown functions. If you are implementing your own countdown logic, you can dequeue the script as well.

Styling the default template with CSS

If you do not need a full template override, you can restyle the default redirect screen using CSS custom properties. See the Styling guide for the full list of redirect-related custom properties and class names.