=== Breadcrumbs Made Easy ===
Contributors: conicplex, husenmemon, sajilmemon, ssmalek
Tags: breadcrumbs, posts navigation, lightweight, seo, breadcrumbs for block editor
Requires at least: 5.2
Tested up to: 7.0
Requires PHP: 5.6
Stable tag: 1.2.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Are you looking for a simple, ultra-lightweight, and super fast wordpress breadcrumbs plugin? "Breadcrumbs Made Easy" is created just for you! It adds clean, beautiful, and SEO-friendly breadcrumb navigation to your WordPress website without any database load or slow page loading.

== Description ==

Hello friend! We built this plugin because we are tired of heavy plugins. Many WordPress users want to show simple breadcrumb navigation on their blog or business website. But if you install a big SEO plugin, it loads so many scripts, queries, and advertisements in your admin panel that your website starts running slow. 

If you only want a nice breadcrumb trail for your users and search engines like Google, you do not need all that heavy stuff! **Breadcrumbs Made Easy** is a dedicated, very lightweight plugin that does exactly what you need. It does not run heavy database queries. It does not load large CSS files. It has only one clean public stylesheet (less than 1KB!) and minimal settings so your page load speed stays lightning fast.

Google loves fast websites, and search engines use breadcrumbs to understand your site's structure. By showing a clear hierarchy path, you make both your visitors happy and your SEO rankings better.

Our plugin automatically detects your site hierarchy. Whether it is a deep category structure, parent-child pages, custom post types, tag indexes, daily/monthly archives, search result pages, or 404 pages, the plugin builds the correct navigation path back to the home page automatically.

You can set everything from a single, easy-to-use admin dashboard. Change font sizes, pick your brand colors using the native WordPress Color Picker, write your custom homepage label, or choose where to auto-display breadcrumbs. You can also place breadcrumbs manually using our new **Easy Breadcrumbs Block Editor block** or a simple shortcode `[easy_breadcrumbs]` (we even added a quick "Copy" button in settings to save you time!).

=== Why website owners love Breadcrumbs Made Easy: ===
* **Built-in JSON-LD Schema (SEO-Friendly):** Automatically generates and inserts valid `BreadcrumbList` schema markup in JSON-LD format to help search engines present your website beautifully in search results.
* **Super Lightweight:** No heavy database queries. Keeps your page load speed fast so you get a better Core Web Vitals score.
* **Block Editor Support:** Insert breadcrumbs visually using our custom block. You can see a live visual preview in the editor that matches your dashboard settings!
* **Auto-Insert Locations:** Automatically place breadcrumbs before/after post titles or before/after content. No need to touch PHP files.
* **Shortcode & PHP Function:** Put it anywhere inside pages, widgets, or theme files using `[easy_breadcrumbs]` or theme templates.
* **Beautiful Admin Dashboard:** Simple interface with native WordPress color pickers for font, current page, and separator colors.
* **Fully Customizable Labels:** Change text for Home, Archives, Author pages, Tags, Search results, and 404 errors. Works great for local languages and translations!
* **Interactive Separator Presets:** Easily click between popular separator keys (like `-`, `–`, `—`, `>`, `<`, `»`, `«`, `/`, `\`, `|`, `•`) to instantly style your breadcrumb trail.

== Features ==

= Custom Block Editor Block (Easy Breadcrumbs) =
You do not need to write codes or copy shortcodes anymore. Just search for "Easy Breadcrumbs" in your Block Editor and click to insert. The block shows a beautiful visual preview in the editor using your custom dashboard colors and font settings so you see exactly what your users will see.

= Auto-Display & Prepend/Append =
No need to edit your theme files. We built an auto-insertion feature. In settings, you can choose to auto-insert the breadcrumbs in 4 positions:
1. Before Title
2. After Title
3. Before Content
4. After Content
This applies automatically to singular posts and pages.

= Quick Copy Shortcode Button =
If you prefer manual placement, we provide the shortcode `[easy_breadcrumbs]`. We added a handy "Copy" button right next to the shortcode input in the admin settings. Just click it, and it instantly copies to your clipboard and shows a green "Copied!" message. Simple and fast!

= WordPress Color Picker Styling =
Customize colors without writing CSS code. You can easily pick:
* Base Font Color (for links and paths)
* Current Page Font Color (to highlight the active page)
* Separator Color (for symbols like `>`, `/`, etc.)
* Font size in pixels
* Current Page Background Color (style the active page trail block)
* Current Page Border (configure custom active page border size and colors)
* Current Page Font Size & Padding (fully customize typography and breathing room)

= Interactive Separator Presets =
No need to look up or copy-paste special characters! The admin settings dashboard now displays a styled presets selector bar with 10 popular separator symbols. You can click any preset button to dynamically update the trail's separator, complete with active-state visual highlighting.

= Intelligent Path Hierarchy =
The plugin handles complex structures automatically:
* **Nested Categories:** Shows Home > Parent Cat > Child Cat > Post Title.
* **Parent-Child Pages:** For deep pages like Services > Digital Marketing > SEO.
* **Custom Post Types (CPTs):** Automatically handles custom post types and custom taxonomy terms. You can also customize labels for each custom post type dynamically from the Labels settings dashboard page.
* **Archives & Tags:** Dynamically shows year/month/day dates, tags, and author names.
* **Search & 404:** Shows custom labels for search results and 404 errors.

= Dynamic Custom Post Type Labels =
If you have custom post types registered on your website, they are automatically listed on the Labels settings submenu. You can write custom, user-friendly labels for each CPT (e.g. override "portfolio" CPT back-link text to say "Our Work"), making navigation extremely intuitive for your users.

= Google-Compliant JSON-LD Schema =
Get rich snippets in Google Search results! The plugin generates valid, Google-compliant schema markup dynamically matching your pages' hierarchy. It can be easily enabled or disabled from the admin settings.

== Use Cases ==

= 1. E-Commerce and CPT Portfolio Sites =
If you have custom post types (like products, portfolio, or books) and custom taxonomies, our plugin automatically displays the slug hierarchy, helping buyers navigate back to catalog pages easily.

= 2. Deeply Structured Blogs =
For blogs with multiple categories, users can easily click the parent category links in the breadcrumb to explore more related articles, lowering your bounce rate.

= 3. Service & Agency Websites =
Help potential clients navigate your service pages (e.g. Home > Services > Web Design) and quickly understand what section of the site they are looking at.

== Installation ==

Installing the plugin is very simple:

1. Go to your WordPress Dashboard, navigate to **Plugins > Add New**.
2. Search for **Breadcrumbs Made Easy**.
3. Click **Install Now** and then **Activate**.
4. Alternatively, download the zip file and upload it through **Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin**.
5. Once activated, go to **Breadcrumbs Made Easy** in your sidebar menu to customize colors, labels, and auto-insert options.
6. If you want manual placement, insert our Block Editor block **Easy Breadcrumbs** or paste the shortcode `[easy_breadcrumbs]`.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= How do I display breadcrumbs manually on my pages? =
You can do this in two ways:
1. In the Block Editor, search for the **Easy Breadcrumbs** block and add it visually.
2. Paste the shortcode `[easy_breadcrumbs]` into any shortcode block, classic editor, or widget area. 
If you are a developer, you can also use PHP code: `<?php echo do_shortcode('[easy_breadcrumbs]'); ?>` inside your theme files.

= Can I hide the current page title from the breadcrumb trail? =
Yes! In the settings dashboard, you can turn off the "Show Current Page" setting. This hides the final link, ending the trail at the parent category or page.

= Does it support my local language translations? =
Yes, absolutely. All labels (Home, Archives, Tags, Search, Author, 404) are text fields in the admin dashboard. You can type your local language text directly in the settings page and save it.

= Can I change the breadcrumb labels for my custom post types? =
Yes! Navigating to **Breadcrumbs Made Easy > Labels** will dynamically list all registered public custom post types on your site. You can input custom labels for each post type to override the default plural or singular name in the breadcrumbs trail and the JSON-LD schema.

= How do I choose or customize the breadcrumb separator? =
In the plugin settings dashboard, you can enter any custom separator character or symbol (including HTML codes). To make it easy, we have added a styled presets panel where you can click popular separators—such as dashes, slashes, backslashes, double quotes, pipes, and bullets—to populate the field automatically.

= Does this plugin track my website data? =
This plugin uses ConicPlex to collect basic deactivation feedback. When you deactivate or uninstall the plugin, a quick popup asks why you are deactivating. You can write your feedback or click "Skip & Deactivate". It sends basic metadata (like site URL, admin email, plugin version) to help our team fix bugs and make the plugin better.

= Will this plugin slow down my website load speed? =
No, definitely not! This is a core feature of our plugin. We do not load external libraries, web fonts, or heavy scripts. The public stylesheet is extremely small, and we use optimized PHP code to build the trail.

= Does this plugin support schema markup for Google? =
Yes! Starting from version 1.2.0, the plugin automatically outputs the standard `BreadcrumbList` schema in JSON-LD format (`application/ld+json`). This helps search engines like Google understand your site structure and show breadcrumbs in search engine result pages (SERPs). You can toggle this setting in the admin settings dashboard.

== Screenshots ==

1. **Single Post Breadcrumbs Trail on Frontend** - Live view of the breadcrumb trail (e.g., Home > Category > Post Title) displaying on a single blog post.
2. **Category Page Breadcrumbs Trail on Frontend** - Live view of the breadcrumb trail (e.g., Home > Category Name) on a category archive page.
3. **Author Archive Breadcrumbs Trail on Frontend** - Live view of the breadcrumb trail (e.g., Home > Author page for > Author Name) displaying on an author archive page with custom label prefixing.
4. **General Settings Dashboard Panel** - Clean admin dashboard containing the shortcode copy button, auto-insert positions, clickable separator presets, active page styling color pickers, borders, font-size, and padding settings.
5. **Labels Configuration Panel** - Dedicated settings screen to configure text labels for Homepage, Search results, Archives, Tags, Author pages, 404 Errors, and custom post type (CPT) overrides.
6. **Gutenberg Block Inserter Search (WordPress Editor)** - Visual representation of the custom "Easy Breadcrumbs" block showing up inside the Gutenberg block inserter matching the custom SVG breadcrumbs logo icon.

== Developer Credits ==

This plugin is lovingly crafted and maintained by **ConicPlex**. We focus on building lightweight, SEO-friendly, and high-performance WordPress plugins and custom themes. If you need any custom plugin development or WordPress help, feel free to contact us at **hello@conicplex.com[Email Address]**.

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 1.2.0 =
This update adds built-in Google-compliant JSON-LD Schema (BreadcrumbList structured data) support to boost your SEO, a dedicated **Labels** settings page, dynamic **Custom Post Type (CPT) Labels** overrides, an interactive **Breadcrumbs Separator Presets** panel, resolves PHP compatibility fatal errors in breadcrumb prepend filter hooks, and bumps the version to 1.2.0. Highly recommended!

= 1.1.0 =
This update adds a visual **Easy Breadcrumbs Block Editor block** with live styling preview, a quick **Copy Shortcode** button, a custom SVG menu icon, and optimizations. Highly recommended for all users!

== Changelog ==

= 1.2.0 =
* Added Google-compliant JSON-LD structured data (BreadcrumbList schema) support.
* Added a settings toggle row to turn JSON-LD schema rendering on or off.
* Added a dedicated **Labels** settings page under the admin submenu.
* Added dynamic **Custom Post Type (CPT) Labels** configuration list to define CPT overrides.
* Added styled **Breadcrumbs Separator Presets** selector bar to general settings.
* Fixed argument count PHP fatal error in prepend filter hooks.
* Bumped plugin version to 1.2.0.

= 1.1.0 =
* Added custom Block Editor block **Easy Breadcrumbs** with live style preview.
* Added a handy **Copy Shortcode** button with success feedback in settings.
* Added a custom SVG menu page icon for better WordPress admin dashboard appearance.
* Updated readme.txt with detailed descriptions and SEO optimization.
* General code cleanup and performance improvements.
* Added styling options including font size, font color, current page color, and separator color.
* Integrated the WordPress color picker for easier styling from the settings panel.
* Added settings to choose auto-insertion positions (Before/After Title, Before/After Content).
* Added a deactivation feedback prompt to collect insights for plugin improvement.

= 1.0.0 =
* Initial release of Breadcrumbs Made Easy.
* Added sitewide enable option and `[easy_breadcrumbs]` shortcode.
* Added basic styling options (font size, font color, separator color).