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Getting Started with Tidy Draft Share

This guide walks you through installing Tidy Draft Share, generating your first shareable link, and managing link expiration and access.

1. System Requirements

Before installing Tidy Draft Share, make sure your WordPress environment meets the following requirements:

  • WordPress 6.0 or higher — The plugin integrates with the Block Editor sidebar panel, which requires at least WordPress 6.0.
  • PHP 8.2 or higher — The plugin uses modern PHP features including typed properties and readonly classes.

Tidy Draft Share is a lightweight plugin with no external dependencies. It works with all WordPress themes and does not require any page builder or additional plugins.

2. Installation

Option A: Install from the WordPress Plugin Directory

  1. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New.
  2. Search for "Tidy Draft Share" in the search bar.
  3. Click Install Now next to the Tidy Draft Share plugin.
  4. Once installed, click Activate.

Option B: Manual Upload

  1. Download the Tidy Draft Share plugin ZIP file from your account dashboard or the WordPress plugin directory.
  2. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
  3. Choose the ZIP file and click Install Now.
  4. Once installed, click Activate.

After activation, a new "Share Draft" panel appears in the Block Editor sidebar whenever you edit an unpublished post. No additional configuration is needed.

3. Creating Your First Shareable Link

Open any unpublished post (draft, pending review, scheduled, or private) in the WordPress block editor.

  1. Locate the "Share Draft" panel in the editor sidebar (right side). If you don't see it, click the settings icon and look under the document panel.
  2. Choose an expiration time. Select how long the link should remain active: 1 hour, 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days, or never (the link stays valid until manually revoked).
  3. Click "Create Link". A unique, secure URL is generated instantly.
  4. Copy the link. Click the copy button to copy the URL to your clipboard. Share it with anyone — they can view the post without logging in to WordPress.

The shared link shows the post exactly as it will appear when published, using your theme's single post template. The viewer does not need a WordPress account to access the content.

4. Managing Shared Links

The Share Draft panel shows all active links for the current post, along with their expiration dates:

  • Revoke a link — Click the revoke button next to any link to instantly invalidate it. Anyone using the link will see a clean "expired" page.
  • Multiple links — You can create multiple links per post with different expiration times, useful for sharing with different reviewers.
  • Posts list indicator — Posts with active shared links display a small indicator in the WordPress posts list, so you can quickly see which content is being shared.

When a link expires naturally or is revoked, visitors see a clean, branded page informing them that the link is no longer valid. No error pages or confusing messages.

5. Supported Post Types and Statuses

Tidy Draft Share works with all post types and all unpublished statuses:

  • Post types — Posts, pages, and all registered custom post types.
  • Statuses — Draft, pending review, scheduled, and private posts.

Once a post is published, existing shared links continue to work but redirect to the public URL. You can still revoke them if needed.

6. SEO Safety

Tidy Draft Share is designed with SEO in mind. All shared draft pages include noindex and nofollow meta tags, ensuring search engines never index your unpublished content. The shared URLs use unique tokens that cannot be guessed or enumerated.

Next Steps