Title: Instant Breadcrumbs
Author: loseyourmarbles
Published: December 28, 2013
Last modified: August 8, 2014
---
Search plugins
This plugin **hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress**.
It may no longer be maintained or supported and may have compatibility issues when
used with more recent versions of WordPress.
# Instant Breadcrumbs
By [loseyourmarbles](https://profiles.wordpress.org/loseyourmarbles/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/instant-breadcrumbs.1.4.5.zip)
* [Details](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/#description)
* [Reviews](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/#installation)
* [Development](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/instant-breadcrumbs/)
## Description
Instant Breadcrumbs adds a breadcrumb trail to your WordPress blog’s primary navigation
menu. No theme editing required!
Including a breadcrumb trail on your site not
only makes it easier for visitors to navigate your site, but also allows search
engines to better explore your blog and include the breadcrumb information in rich
snippet data in search results. Many breadcrumb plugins exist, but normally require
either theme editing, or use of a theme that is already customized to include the
breadcrumb function. In addition, editing the theme is usually followed by some
CSS styling to make the breadcrumb trail match the overall ‘look’ of the site.
Instant Breadcrumbs takes a different approach. Since breadcrumbs are a navigation
aid, the generated trail is
automatically added to the front of your existing primary
navigation menu. This allows it to not only function straight out of the box with
a large number of themes, but also use the existing styling of your primary navigation
menu.
A quick overview of Instant Breadcrumbs features:
* Works with both custom primary menus and the default ‘page’ menu generated by
WordPress;
* Produces RDFa-compliant breadcrumb trails that may be used by Google and others
in search results;
* Supports customization of the breadcrumb titles for pages such as the front page,
archives, and search;
* Re-uses existing top-level entries in the primary menu to avoid repeated links;
* Includes CSS classes for added breadcrumbs for optional further styling if desired;
* Use the built-in breadcrumb generator, or third-party generators such as Yoast(
[WordPress SEO](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/))
and [Breadcrumb NavXT](https://wordpress.org/plugins/breadcrumb-navxt/),
adding those to the nav menu without theme editing. Tested against Breadcrumb
NavXT 5.1.0 and WordPress SEO 1.5.4.2;
* Supports HTML markup in post titles, with the option to disable it;
* “Manual” mode allows insertion into templates for themes that do not use the
WordPress primary navigation menu;
* A widget is available if you would prefer to show the breadcrumb trail in a sidebar.
Visit the [Plugin Blog Page](http://loseyourmarbles.co/instant-breadcrumbs) if you
have a comment or suggestion for the next update of the plugin!
If Instant Breadcrumbs
is useful to you, please consider making a small contribution via [Flattr](http://loseyourmarbles.co/instant-breadcrumbs/contribute)
to help support the continued development and improvement of this plugin, or leave
a review at the [WordPress Plugin Directory](https://wordpress.org/plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/).
#### Translations
The Instant Breadcrumbs plugin is currently translated into the following languages:
* es_ES: Español
* fr_FR: Français
* sr_RS: Srpski jezik
Spanish translation provided by Andrew Kurtis of [WebHostingHub](http://www.webhostinghub.com/).
Serbian translation provided by Ogi Djuraskovic of [FirstSiteGuide](http://firstsiteguide.com/).
All other translations courtesy of the continued hard work of the [WP-Translations](http://wp-translations.org/)
team. This plugin is proud to be a part of the
WP-Translations community. If you
would like to make translation contributions, please visit the [translation dashboard on Transifex](http://transifex.com/projects/p/instant-breadcrumbs).
Banner image is [Trail of (gluten-free) bread crumbs](http://www.flickr.com/photos/shinyredtype/5692770225/in/photostream/)
by [Kat Selvocki](http://www.flickr.com/photos/shinyredtype/) and
used here under
[CC BY-NC-ND 2.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/).
## Screenshots
* [[
* A screenshot of Instant Breadcrumbs generated on a blog post in TwentyFourteen,
showing the breadcrumb trail for the current post, including the post category.
This is without any theme editing;
* [[
* The exact same blog in TwentyTwelve, no theme editing;
* [[
* … and in TwentyThirteen, again without theme editing;
* [[
* The same page in TwentyFourteen on a smaller display, showing the breadcrumb
trail automatically styles with the navigation menu;
* [[
* The breadcrumb trail for a page that already appears in the nav menu, reusing
the existing link.
## Installation
1. Unzip and upload the `instant-breadcrumbs` directory to the `/wp-content/plugins/`
directory;
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress;
3. Optionally change settings values in the ‘Breadcrumbs’ settings page, listed under‘
Appearance’;
4. If using a supported breadcrumb plugin as generator, customize that plugin settings;
5. Optionally add custom CSS, although the plugin is designed to work without theme
editing;
6. If your theme does not have a primary navigation menu, insert `` into your theme.
You may pass optional HTML as a first parameter to separate
items, and pass `true` as a second parameter if you wish to return the result rather
than write it directly to the page. It is strongly recommended that you perform
your own CSS styling in manual mode;
7. If you prefer, you may include the breadcrumb trail in a widget. Go to the ‘Widgets’
submenu (under ‘Appearance’ in the
WordPress admin) and drag the Instant Breadcrumbs
widget to the appropriate position. You may set a title and optional separator
HTML. As above, it is recommended you apply your own CSS styling.
## FAQ
Which themes does the plugin support?
Instant Breadcrumbs is designed to work with “generic” WordPress blog themes. In
other words, these
are basic themes which have a header that calls `wp_nav_menu`
in their header to include a menu (or a menu based on your static pages, if no menu
has been defined). The default themes that ship with each WordPress installation
are good examples, as are most “general purpose” blogging themes. The plugin is
intended to provide easy breadcrumb functionality for basic blogging, and will attempt
to identify the first menu on the web page.
Breadcrumbs are not showing, or are in the wrong menu?
Instant Breadcrumbs attempts to find the first menu in your theme, and add the trail
there. For some
themes the menu may be difficult to identify, or the first menu
is not the ideal position. In these cases, you may manually specify a theme location
in the Instant Breadcrumbs settings. The value here should match the `theme_location`
in the relevant `wp_nav_menu` call in your theme header. Leave this blank to allow
Instant Breadcrumbs to automatically find the first one.
If your web site is highly customized, and your theme contains its own custom code
to generate
menus or navigation, then it’s likely that Instant Breadcrumbs may
not be called when your site is displayed. In this case, you can revert to theme
editing and call `instant_breadcrumb()` manually to insert the breadcrumb trail
at an appropriate location in your theme. You can optionally insert HTML between
the breadcrumb elements, and you should perform your own CSS styling. Alternatively,
you may insert the supplied widget in an appropriate location.
I don’t want the breadcrumb trail automatically adding itself to my menu.
The automatic addition of breadcrumbs to the main menu is not for everyone. It may
not suit your
existing menu items, or perhaps you would prefer a more traditional
breadcrumb display somewhere else in your layout. The automatic mode is the default
in Instant Breadcrumbs, but you may disable it in the Breadcrumbs settings page (
under Appearance). If you are using the widget method, or manually editing your
template PHP, it is recommended you disable automatic mode.
Will settings remain if I upgrade the plugin?
The plugin is designed to keep your settings from one installed version to the next.
If the upgraded
version has new settings, they will be set to sensible defaults.
You should verify these new settings after an upgrade. Your old settings should
still be preserved.
My home page appears twice in the modified menu?
Instant Breadcrumbs will reuse menu items wherever possible, for example when viewing
a page that is
already in the top-level menu. However it cannot reuse a menu item
link if doing so would mean the generated breadcrumbs are no longer in order. The
usual example of this is if the home page already appears in the primary menu. The
generated breadcrumb trail requires the home link to be first. The easiest workaround
for this is simply to customize your menu so the home page is not included a second
time.
How can I apply custom CSS to the added breadcrumbs?
The Instant Breadcrumbs plugin adds the CSS class `ib-crumb` to the `li` element
of any breadcrumbs in
the menu, and `ib-lastcrumb` to the last link in the breadcrumb
trail representing the current page. Furthermore, the class `ib-added` is added
to the `li` element of new menu items created by the plugin, and `ib-edited` to
existing menu items. These may be styled in your theme’s `style.css` should for
instance you would like breadcrumb items to be highlighted in a different color.
Some useful examples: `.ib-crumb {display:inline;}` will display your breadcrumb
trail in a single line
if you are using PHP or the widget to display the trail.
A more complex one is `.ib-crumb+.ib-crumb:before {content:">";}` which will add
the additional arrow as a separator between consecutive breadcrumbs.
Why do HTML characters such as <, >, and & appear incorrectly in the output?
If your post title includes these characters, be sure to escape them correctly (
for example
as `<`, `>`, and `&`). Otherwise they may be rendered incorrectly
at any time they may appear on the Web page, including in the breadcrumb trail.
This is nothing particular about Instant Breadcrumbs, but all breadcrumb generators,
and Web pages in general, behave similarly. As of version 1.2, you may include HTML
markup in your post titles, such as `for emphasis`, and the Instant Breadcrumb
trail will optionally include it in the breadcrumb as well. This option is enabled
by default. Disabling it will use text only in each crumb.
## Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
## Contributors & Developers
“Instant Breadcrumbs” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.
Contributors
* [ loseyourmarbles ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/loseyourmarbles/)
“Instant Breadcrumbs” has been translated into 4 locales. Thank you to [the translators](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/contributors)
for their contributions.
[Translate “Instant Breadcrumbs” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/instant-breadcrumbs)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/instant-breadcrumbs/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/instant-breadcrumbs/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/instant-breadcrumbs/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/instant-breadcrumbs/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 1.4.5
* _NEW_ Translations for French, Serbian, and Spanish.
* Compatibility verification for WordPress 3.9.2 and latest development versions
of WordPress SEO and Breadcrumb NavXT.
#### 1.4.4
* _FIX_ Made built-in generator more robust with more plugins and themes. Should
improve function when breadcrumbs are used in footers. (Thanks to Krishna Roy).
* Compatibility verification for WordPress 3.9.1, WordPress SEO 1.5.4.2, and Breadcrumb
NavXT 5.1.0.
#### 1.4.3
* _FIX_ Use the static page title if `show_on_front` is set to `page`. Better for
multilingual sites. (Thanks to luoshiben).
* Compatibility verification for WordPress SEO 1.5.2.8.
* Compatibility modifications for forthcoming Breadcrumb NavXT changes.
#### 1.4.2
* Compatibility verification for WordPress 3.9 and WordPress SEO 1.5.2.7.
#### 1.4.1
* _NEW_ Added setting in the Appearance/Breadcrumb menu to control automatic addition
of the trail to the menu.
#### 1.4
* _FIX_ Cleanup empty placeholder HTML elements, such as when the breadcrumb trail
is inserted before an empty menu.
* _NEW_ Automatically detect the first navigation menu in a theme and apply the
breadcrumb there. Improves theme compatibility.
* _NEW_ Optionally specify a theme location of a menu, to allow breadcrumbs to
appear in menus other than primary.
* Performance improvements.
#### 1.3.1
* _FIX_ Improved theme compatibility, supporting more menu theme locations. Plugin
should now work with Modernize. (Thanks to Arun Nair).
#### 1.3
* _FIX_ Corrected the order of hierarchical post types in the breadcrumb.
* _FIX_ Changed category selection to use count, rather than term order.
* _FIX_ Corrected a bug in the current URL lookup when using Yoast or NavXT.
* _FIX_ Corrected the search path for language translation files.
* _NEW_ Support for manual insertion of a breadcrumb trail into a theme with a
PHP call.
* _NEW_ Added a widget to allow the user to insert and display the breadcrumb trail
in a sidebar.
* Readme and FAQ updates.
* Link to contribute to the plugin development via Flattr.
#### 1.2.1
* _FIX_ HTML tags in post titles now handled correctly, for both built-in and external
breadcrumb generators.
* _NEW_ Option to optionally strip HTML tags from the generated titles.
* Updated test environment to WordPress 3.8.1, WordPress SEO 1.4.24, and Breadcrumb
NavXT 5.0.1.
* Small readme and FAQ updates.
#### 1.1
* _FIX_ Corrected an issue where breadcrumb titles could be empty. Use defaults
in this case.
* _FIX_ Enable the breadcrumbs to appear even if the navigation menu or page list
are empty.
* _NEW_ Supports Yoast and Breadcrumb NavXT breadcrumb trails.
* _NEW_ Added more CSS classes to be compliant with `wp_nav_menu` item styling.
* Display default values for breadcrumb titles in the settings page.
#### 1.0
* Initial release.
## Meta
* Version **1.4.5**
* Last updated **12 years ago**
* Active installations **300+**
* WordPress version ** 3.0.0 or higher **
* Tested up to **3.9.40**
* Languages
* [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/), [French (France)](https://fr.wordpress.org/plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/),
[Serbian](https://sr.wordpress.org/plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/), [Spanish (Chile)](https://cl.wordpress.org/plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/),
and [Spanish (Spain)](https://es.wordpress.org/plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/).
* [Translate into your language](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/instant-breadcrumbs)
* Tags
* [breadcrumbs](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/breadcrumbs/)[links](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/links/)
[menu](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/menu/)[navigation](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/navigation/)
* [Advanced View](https://pcd.wordpress.org/plugins/instant-breadcrumbs/advanced/)
## Ratings
3.7 out of 5 stars.
* [ 2 5-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/instant-breadcrumbs/reviews/?filter=5)
* [ 0 4-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/instant-breadcrumbs/reviews/?filter=4)
* [ 0 3-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/instant-breadcrumbs/reviews/?filter=3)
* [ 0 2-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/instant-breadcrumbs/reviews/?filter=2)
* [ 1 1-star review ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/instant-breadcrumbs/reviews/?filter=1)
[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/instant-breadcrumbs/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/instant-breadcrumbs/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ loseyourmarbles ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/loseyourmarbles/)
## Support
Got something to say? Need help?
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/instant-breadcrumbs/)
## Donate
Would you like to support the advancement of this plugin?
[ Donate to this plugin ](http://loseyourmarbles.co/instant-breadcrumbs/contribute)