In website operation, we often encounter users sharing links in comments or message boards.These links, if not automatically converted to a clickable form, not only affect user experience but may also reduce the efficiency of information dissemination.However, directly converting user input text to HTML links also poses potential security risks, such as malicious script injection.AutoCMS (AutoCMS) is a content management system that focuses on security and efficiency, providing a secure and convenient way to solve this problem.
Why do we need to automatically convert URLs to clickable links?
Imagine, a user says: "This tutorial is very useful, I was"https://en.anqicms.comFound more information.If the URL in this sentence is just plain text, other users will have to manually copy and paste to access it, which undoubtedly increases the number of steps and reduces the willingness to interact.If it can automatically identify and convert to clickable links, users can simply click on them and be directed to the target page, greatly enhancing the browsing experience and the convenience of information acquisition.
Security considerations should not be ignored
The Anqi CMS has always pursued 'to make all websites safe in the world' from the beginning of its design. The system is built with functions such as content security management and sensitive word filtering, providing multiple safeguards for website content.And for URL automatic conversion, it also provides a solution optimized for security.
English CMS solutions: Ingeniously using built-in filters
In the AnQi CMS, to safely convert URLs in user comments or messages to clickable links automatically, we can take advantage of the powerful built-in filters in the template engine, especiallyurlizeandurlizetruncThese filters can not only identify URLs in text and generate<a>tags, but also automatically addrel="nofollow"attributes, which is very helpful for preventing spam links and maintaining the SEO health of the website.
Firstly, you need to find the template file that displays user comments or messages on the website. These files are usually located intemplatethe directory.comment/list.html(used to display comment lists) orguestbook/index.htmlIn the list displayed after the comment form, or in any other template file you customize.
In these template files, you will usually see things like{{ item.Content }}This code is used to output the user's input comments or messages. Here,itemrepresents the current comment or message data being traversed, andContentis the field that stores its specific content.
To makeContentThe URL in it becomes a clickable link, you just need to apply this variable.urlizeThe filter. The specific method is toContentafter adding|urlize:
{{ item.Content|urlize }}
After doing this,urlizeThe filter will automatically scanitem.ContentThe text, identify the URL (includinghttp:///https://starting withwww.starting with the URL, even email addresses), and enclose them with<a href="..." rel="nofollow">...</a>Label it.
Don't forget the "|safe" filter!
You may find that, just using|urlize, the links displayed on the page are not clickable, but rather like<a href="https://en.anqicms.com" rel="nofollow">https://en.anqicms.com</a>Such plain text.This is because the template engine of AnQi CMS defaults to escaping all output content for security reasons, to prevent malicious HTML or JavaScript code from being executed directly.<Converted to<, so they are displayed as plain text.
To solve this problem, you need to tell the template engine,urlizeThe content generated by the filter is safe HTML and does not need to be escaped. This is when you need to usesafeFilter:
{{ item.Content|urlize|safe }}
Add it.|safeAfter that, the browser will correctly displayurlizeAfter conversion<a>The tag is parsed and displayed as a clickable link.
For long URLs, you can consider using 'urlizetrunc'
Some users may publish very long URLs, which may affect the aesthetics of the page layout. The Anqi CMS providesurlizetruncfilter. Its function is withurlizeSimilar, but you can specify the display length of the link text.
For example, if you want the link text to be displayed at most 40 characters long, and the rest to be replaced with “…”, you can use it like this:
{{ item.Content|urlizetrunc:40|safe }}
This way, even if the original URL is long, the displayed link on the page will be concise and beautiful, for examplehttps://en.anqicms.com/long/path/to/page....
Summary
Passurlize(or}urlizetrunc) Combined withsafeFilter, you can automatically convert URLs to clickable links in the user comments or messages on the Anqi CMS, safely and efficiently. This method not only improves user experience, but also benefits from the built-in security mechanisms of Anqi CMS, such as automatically addingrel="nofollow"Properties, effectively avoid common security vulnerabilities and garbage link issues, making your website content more interactive and worry-free.
Common Questions (FAQ)
1. Why did I useurlizeAfter the filter, the link still displays as plain text and does not become clickable?This is usually because you forget to add|safeFilter. The default template engine of Anqi CMS will escape all output content to ensure safety, sourlizegenerated<a>tags will also be escaped to plain text. You need to add|safeTell the template engine that this part of the HTML is safe and can be rendered normally. The complete usage should be{{ item.Content|urlize|safe }}.
2.urlizeandurlizetruncWhat are the differences between filters? Which one should I choose?
urlizeThe filter will convert URLs in the text to clickable links and display the original URL as link text.urlizetruncIn addition to transforming the link, it also allows you to specify a maximum length. If the URL text exceeds this length, it will be truncated with an ellipsis (…) to maintain the layout of the page. If your website comment section is limited in space, or you want the interface to look more beautiful,urlizetruncis a good choice, otherwiseurlizeusually enough.
3. Whether this automatic conversion link method will affect the website's SEO?Actually, usingurlizeandurlizetruncFilter is SEO-friendly. The CMS automatically adds it when generating links.rel="nofollow"Property.This attribute tells the search engine not to follow these links and not to pass any weight to them.This helps prevent spammy links in user comments from affecting your website's ranking, thereby maintaining the SEO health of your site.