Glossary by Progress Planner

A semantic, accessible WordPress glossary plugin that automatically links terms to click-triggered popover definitions using native WordPress functionality.

Features

• Custom Post Type: Register glossary entries with custom fields (no content editor needed)
• Native WordPress Fields: Uses WordPress custom meta boxes for field management (short description, long description, synonyms)
• Automatic Term Linking: Automatically transforms the first mention of glossary terms in your content
• Click-Triggered Popovers: Display definitions on click using the native Popover API with CSS Anchor Positioning
• Case Sensitive Matching: Optionally match terms only when case matches exactly
• Disable Auto-Linking: Allow entries to appear in the glossary without being automatically linked in content
• Semantic HTML: Uses <dfn> and <aside> elements with proper ARIA attributes
• Schema.org Integration: Full DefinedTerm and DefinedTermSet structured data support
  • Integrates with Yoast SEO schema graph when available
  • Falls back to Microdata when Yoast SEO is not active
• Synonyms Support: Define alternative terms that trigger the same glossary entry
• Glossary Block: Gutenberg block to display full glossary with alphabetical navigation
• Settings Page: Configure which page displays the glossary
• Accessible: Full keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility
• Responsive Design: Mobile-friendly with CSS custom properties for easy theming
• No External Dependencies: Pure WordPress core functionality, no third-party plugins required

Requirements

• WordPress 6.0 or higher
• PHP 7.4 or higher
• Modern browser with Popover API support (Chrome 114+, Edge 114+, Safari 17+)

Installation

1. Download or clone this repository into your WordPress plugins directory:

   cd wp-content/plugins/
   git clone [repository-url] pp-glossary

2. Activate the "Glossary by Progress Planner" plugin in your WordPress admin panel

3. Navigate to Glossary in the WordPress admin menu to start adding entries

Setup

1. Create a Glossary Page

1. Create a new page in WordPress (e.g., "Glossary" or "Terms")
2. Add the Glossary List block to the page
3. Configure the block settings (show/hide title, custom title text)
4. Publish the page

2. Configure Settings

1. Go to Glossary > Settings in the WordPress admin
2. Select the page you created as the "Glossary Page"
3. Save settings

3. Add Glossary Entries

1. Go to Glossary > Add New
2. Enter the term as the title (e.g., "Cumulative Layout Shift")
3. Fill in the custom fields in the "Glossary Entry Details" meta box:
   • Short Description (required): Brief definition (1-2 sentences) shown in popovers
   • Long Description: Detailed explanation shown on the glossary page
   • Synonyms: Alternative terms (e.g., "CLS", "layout shift") - click "Add Synonym" to add more
   • Case Sensitive: Enable to only match terms when the case matches exactly
   • Disable Auto-Linking: Enable to prevent this entry from being automatically linked in content
4. Publish the entry

Usage

Automatic Term Linking

Once you've added glossary entries, the plugin automatically:

• Scans post and page content for mentions of glossary terms (case-insensitive by default, or case-sensitive if enabled)
• Transforms the first mention of each term into an interactive element (unless auto-linking is disabled for that entry)
• Shows a popover with the short description when users click on the term
• Adds a "Read more" link to the full glossary entry

The Glossary Block

The Glossary List block displays:

• Optional title
• Alphabetical navigation (A-Z)
• All entries grouped by first letter
• Short and long descriptions for each entry
• Synonym listings

Click Behavior

• Mouse users: Click on a dotted underlined term to see the definition
• Keyboard users: Tab to the term and press Enter or Space to open the popover
• Touch users: Tap the term to toggle the popover
• Press Escape or click elsewhere to close the popover

HTML Structure

The plugin generates semantic, accessible HTML with CSS Anchor Positioning:

<!-- Glossary term with anchor definition -->
<dfn id="dfn-term-1"
     class="pp-glossary-term"
     style="anchor-name: --dfn-term-1;">
  <button data-glossary-popover="pop-term-1"
          type="button"
          aria-expanded="false">
    term
  </button>
</dfn>

<!-- Popover anchored to the term -->
<aside id="pop-term-1"
       popover="auto"
       role="tooltip"
       aria-labelledby="dfn-term-1"
       style="position-anchor: --dfn-term-1;">
  <p><a href="/glossary/#term-slug">Read more about <strong>Term</strong></a></p>
  <p>Short description of the term.</p>
</aside>

The glossary block itself includes Schema.org structured data (Microdata when Yoast SEO is not active, JSON-LD when Yoast SEO is active):

<!-- Glossary block with schema markup -->
<div class="pp-glossary-block"
     itemscope
     itemtype="https://schema.org/DefinedTermSet"
     itemid="https://example.com/glossary/#glossary">

  <meta itemprop="name" content="Glossary">

  <!-- Each entry -->
  <article id="term-slug"
           class="glossary-entry"
           itemprop="hasDefinedTerm"
           itemscope
           itemtype="https://schema.org/DefinedTerm">

    <link itemprop="url" href="https://example.com/glossary/#term-slug">

    <h4 class="glossary-entry-title" itemprop="name">Term Title</h4>

    <div class="glossary-synonyms">
      <span class="synonyms-label">Also known as:</span>
      <span>Synonym 1, Synonym 2</span>
      <meta itemprop="alternateName" content="Synonym 1">
      <meta itemprop="alternateName" content="Synonym 2">
    </div>

    <div class="glossary-long-description" itemprop="description">
      Long description of the term...
    </div>
  </article>
</div>

Note: When Yoast SEO is active, the Microdata attributes are omitted and structured data is added to Yoast's JSON-LD schema graph instead.

Customization

Styling

The plugin uses CSS custom properties for easy theming, with their defaults listed:

:root {
  --glossary-underline-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);
  --glossary-underline-hover-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7);
  --glossary-focus-color: #005a87;
  --glossary-bg-color: #fff;
  --glossary-border-color: #ddd;
  --glossary-text-color: #333;
  --glossary-heading-color: #000;
  --glossary-link-color: #0073aa;
  --glossary-accent-color: #0073aa;
  --glossary-nav-bg: #fff;
  --glossary-letter-bg: #f5f5f5;
  --glossary-letter-color: #333;
  --glossary-letter-hover-bg: #0073aa;
  --glossary-letter-hover-color: #fff;
  --glossary-entry-bg: #f9f9f9;
  --glossary-meta-color: #666;
}

Filters

Modify behavior using WordPress filters:

// Disable content filtering for specific post types.
add_filter( 'pp_glossary_disabled_post_types', function( $post_types ) {
    // Disable filtering for 'product' and 'custom_post_type'.
    return array( 'product', 'custom_post_type' );
} );

Browser Support

The plugin uses modern web platform features:

Popover API:

• Chrome/Edge 114+
• Safari 17+
• Firefox (experimental support behind flag)

CSS Anchor Positioning:

• Chrome/Edge 125+/Safari: supported
• Firefox (not yet supported)

For older browsers:

• Consider adding the Popover API polyfill
• CSS Anchor Positioning gracefully degrades (popovers may not position optimally but will still be functional)

Schema.org Structured Data

The plugin automatically adds Schema.org structured data for glossary entries:

With Yoast SEO

When Yoast SEO is active, the plugin integrates with the Yoast schema graph API to add:

• DefinedTermSet for the glossary page
• DefinedTerm for each glossary entry

The structured data appears in Yoast's JSON-LD output and is compatible with Yoast's schema features.

Without Yoast SEO

When Yoast SEO is not active, the plugin outputs Microdata markup directly in the HTML:

• Uses itemscope and itemtype attributes on the glossary block
• Each entry includes proper itemprop attributes for name, description, URL, and synonyms
• Fully compliant with Schema.org DefinedTerm specification

Schema Properties

Each glossary entry includes:

• @type: DefinedTerm
• name: The term title
• description: Short description (shown in popovers)
• url: Anchor link to the entry on the glossary page
• alternateName: Array of synonyms (alternative terms)

Accessibility

The plugin follows WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines:

• Semantic HTML elements (<dfn>, <aside>, proper roles)
• Full keyboard navigation with visible focus indicators
• ARIA attributes for screen readers
• Click-to-open behavior (not hover) for better accessibility
• Auto-dismissing popovers that don't overlap
• Color contrast ratios meet AA standards

Development

No Build Process

The plugin uses vanilla JavaScript and CSS - no build process required!

Coding Standards

Follows WordPress Coding Standards:

• WordPress PHP Coding Standards
• WordPress JavaScript Coding Standards

To check code:

composer install
composer run phpcs

License

GPL v2 or later

Changelog

1.2.0

• Excluded glossary entries from Yoast SEO indexables and XML sitemaps (entries have no public pages)
• Excluded glossary entries from WordPress search results
• Removed revision support (all data is in post meta, not tracked by revisions)
• Added a setting to configure excluded HTML tags where glossary terms should not be highlighted
• Added a setting to exclude specific post types from glossary term highlighting

1.1.0

• Added case sensitive option for glossary entries - only matches terms when case matches exactly
• Added disable auto-linking option - allows entries to appear in the glossary without being automatically linked in content
• Consolidated glossary entry meta data into a single database post meta field for improved performance
• Added automatic migration system for seamless upgrades
• Glossary block improvements:
  • Now falls back to short description when long description is empty
  • Now shows an edit link for logged in users per glossary item
• Accessibility fixes:
  • Popover now opens on click, not on hover, and no longer auto-closes
  • Removed redundant aria-describedby attribute
  • Link appears inside the popover before the definition for better screen reader context
  • Popovers are now type auto instead of manual so they dismiss other popovers and don't overlap

1.0.3

• Fix non-bumped version number

1.0.2

• Asset fixes

1.0.1

• Minor bug fixes

1.0.0

• Initial release
• Custom post type for glossary entries
• Native WordPress custom fields (short description, long description, synonyms)
• Hover-triggered popovers using Popover API with CSS Anchor Positioning
• Automatic term linking (first occurrence only)
• Glossary List Gutenberg block
• Settings page for glossary page configuration
• Schema.org structured data (DefinedTerm and DefinedTermSet)
  • Yoast SEO integration (JSON-LD)
  • Microdata fallback when Yoast is not active
• Semantic, accessible HTML
• Responsive design with CSS custom properties
• Full keyboard and screen reader support
• No external plugin dependencies