Free plugin · no strings
v4.0.1 released Oct 1, 2026
A professional glossary for WordPress, without the code.
Terms as a first-class content type with their own URLs, a dedicated glossary page, automatic in-content linking with tooltips, sidebar widgets and synonym aliases. Build topical depth without writing code.
free forever · no account required · updates for life
What you actually get
- Price
- €0, no tiers
- Sites
- unlimited
- Updates
- included, forever
- Account needed
- none
No upsell tier, no licence server, no account. Download the ZIP and it works, on every site you own, for as long as you run it.
free
Forever. No upsell tier.
lifetime
Updates included.
per term
Its own URL and edit screen.
autolink
First mention linked for you.
What Signocore Glossary does.
Signocore Glossary makes every term a first-class custom post type, with its own URL, admin list and edit screen. That is what lets a glossary scale: hundreds of terms stay manageable, each one is a page search engines can index on its own, and the A-Z index is generated for you rather than maintained by hand.
At a glance
- Version
- 4.0.1
- Shortcodes
- [wpsgls-glossary], [wpsgls-word-count]
- Widgets
- 2 bundled
- Licence
- free, lifetime updates
- Requires
- WordPress 6.9+, PHP 8.1+
Linking that compounds
The linking is the part that compounds. The first mention of a term in any post can be linked automatically, with a short definition on hover, and you decide which content types take part, how many links a single post may carry, and which terms or posts opt out. Synonym aliases mean readers searching the alternate name still land on the right page, and the bundled search widget matches synonyms too.
Glossary index
You can point it at any page as your glossary index or drop the [wpsgls-glossary] shortcode into a template. The index is cached and refreshed whenever a term changes, so the full term query runs once per change, not once per visitor. Our own glossary follows the same model.
Three ways to work with it.
Manage terms like any other content type, render them on a dedicated glossary page, or configure how the index looks.
Our own glossary follows the same model: a page per term, an A-Z index and linked first mentions.
Free. No catch.
No account, no email gate, no upsell tier. Pairs naturally with Signocore SEO.
Signocore Glossary
€0 forever
Every feature on this page, on every site you own. Updates included, for as long as you run it.
Download Signocore Glossarydirect download, no account
- Direct download, no email asked
- No account to create
- Updates included for as long as you run it
- Questions go to the developer, replies usually within a day
A complete glossary system.
Terms as content
Each term is a first-class custom post type with its own URL, admin list, and edit screen. Manage hundreds of terms without losing your mind.
Automatic linking and tooltips
Link the first mention of every term in your posts automatically, and show a short definition on hover. Choose content types, cap links per post, or opt out per term or per post.
Dedicated glossary page
Pick any page as your glossary index, or drop the [wpsgls-glossary] shortcode on any page or template. A-Z navigation, configurable column count.
Synonym aliases
Add comma-separated synonyms per term. Readers searching the alternate name still land on the right page, and the search widget matches synonyms too.
Sidebar widgets
Two ready-to-use widgets included: Recent Terms and Search Terms. Drop them into any sidebar.
Configurable index
Choose a List or Cards layout, set the columns, and toggle synonyms, related terms and default styling (related questions too, with Signocore FAQ). One title template for every term page, with a custom headline per term.
Cached for performance
Glossary index cached and refreshed when a term changes, so the full term query runs once per change, not per visitor.
Related terms everywhere
Terms that share tags with a post can show below it, as a Related Terms tab on WooCommerce products, and on tag archives without posts. More internal links, no extra work.
Search, cards and tooltips
Instant search with a live term count on the glossary page, a List or Cards layout, and tooltips that also work with the keyboard and on touch screens.
Who actually uses Signocore Glossary.
Businesses
Explain industry terms and jargon for customers.
Educators
Build structured learning resources.
Content creators
Build credibility with clear definitions.
From download to first term in under three minutes.
Download the ZIP
Hit the download button. Single ZIP, no account required.
~30 sec
Install in WP admin
Plugins, Add New, Upload Plugin, activate. Standard WordPress flow.
~1 min
Define your first term
Add a term in the Glossary menu, then pick your glossary page and switch on linking under Glossary, Settings.
~1 min
Works with what you already use.
Requires PHP 8.1 or higher and WordPress 6.9 or higher. Our Platform Support Policy explains how these requirements change over time.
Using something not listed here? Let us know and we'll test it.
Common questions about Signocore Glossary.
What does Signocore Glossary do for SEO?
It builds topical depth. Each term gets its own URL with semantic HTML and a clean, focused page, which signals expertise that search engines and readers both reward. The dedicated glossary index gives you an internal hub readers and crawlers can navigate. View tracking shows you which terms actually get traffic, so you know what to expand. Bots and crawlers are filtered out of the counts.
Can it link glossary terms in my posts automatically?
Yes. Turn on Automatic Linking in settings and the first mention of each term (or synonym) in your posts links to its term page, up to a limit you set. Tooltips show a short definition on hover, and they work on links you added by hand as well. Headings, existing links and code are never touched, and you can exclude individual terms or posts.
Can I add synonyms or alternate names for a term?
Yes. The term editor supports a comma-separated list of synonyms per term. They appear on the glossary index alongside the primary term, so readers searching for the alternate name still find the right page. The Search Terms widget matches synonyms too.
Can I customise the glossary page layout?
Yes. In settings you can pick any page as your glossary index, choose a List or Cards layout, set the column count (1-6), toggle synonyms and related terms (and related questions when Signocore FAQ is active), customise the term title template (the "What does [term] mean?" prefix on every term page), and turn the default styling off entirely so your theme takes over. You can also drop the [wpsgls-glossary] shortcode on any page or template, with an optional columns attribute.
Does it include sidebar widgets?
Yes. Two widgets are bundled: Recent Terms (lists the newest or most viewed terms) and Search Terms (a search box scoped to the glossary). Drop them into any sidebar from the WordPress widget settings.
Does it pair with the Signocore FAQ plugin?
Yes. When both Signocore Glossary and Signocore FAQ are active, related glossary terms can be surfaced on FAQ pages and related FAQs on glossary term pages, matched by the tags they share. Both plugins work fine on their own as well.
What's new in the latest release.
v4.0.1 · Last updated Oct 1, 2026 · Tested up to WordPress 7.1.2 · Requires PHP 8.1+
Changes in version 4.0.1:
- Fixed: Signocore Glossary now updates itself when automatic updates are turned on, so new versions are installed without you having to click Update.
- Fixed: The "Enable auto-updates" link for Signocore Glossary now shows on the Plugins screen, even when no update is waiting.
Version 4.0.0:
- Added: A new Cards layout for the glossary page, where each term is shown with the first line of its definition. Choose List or Cards under Glossary Page (Cards need Default Styling turned on), and use the column setting to decide how many cards fit on a row.
- Added: The glossary page shows how many terms it holds, both next to the search field and for each letter.
- Added: Related glossary terms, matched by tags, can appear below blog posts, as a Related Terms tab on WooCommerce products, and on empty tag archives on Kadence, Signocore Slate and block themes. Each placement has its own switch under Related Content.
- Added: The term list has a Synonyms column, plus a Views column you can turn on under Screen Options.
- Added: A Documentation link on the Plugins screen that opens the online guides.
- Improved: Signocore Glossary now requires PHP 8.1 and WordPress 6.9 or newer. Sites that do not meet this are not offered the update and keep working on their current version.
- Improved: Below PHP 8.2, a notice tells you in good time that the next major version, planned for February 1, 2027, will need PHP 8.2.
- Improved: A new admin design in the style of the other Signocore plugins: the settings page has its own header, settings sit in clear cards, and the term editor, term list and notices share one look.
- Improved: The settings are reorganized into five named groups: Glossary Page, Term Pages, Related Content, Glossary Links and Styling.
- Improved: The glossary page has a new look that follows your theme's own colors and fonts, so it fits in on both light and dark designs.
- Improved: The glossary page, the settings and the term editor work properly on phones, down to the narrowest screens.
- Improved: Synonyms on the glossary page show which term they lead to.
- Improved: Glossary tooltips have a cleaner look, stay readable on dark themes and fit on phone screens.
- Improved: The Custom Headline field shows the headline the term gets on its own, so you can see what you are replacing before you type.
- Improved: Your settings are checked when you save them, so a value that is out of range is corrected instead of stored.
- Improved: The page picker in the settings ships with the plugin, so the admin loads nothing from outside services.
- Improved: The A-Z index follows your site language, for example Ñ on Spanish sites and Å, Ä, Ö on Swedish sites, with accented letters sorted under their base letter elsewhere.
- Improved: Related term lists include terms that have not been viewed yet.
- Improved: Term pages use the default title, What does [term] mean?, without saving the settings first.
- Improved: With Signocore Multilanguage, term page breadcrumbs link to the glossary page in the reader's language, and translated glossary pages are skipped by automatic links.
- Improved: Updated Danish translation.
- Fixed: New versions now show up in automatic and scheduled update checks, not only when you open the admin.
- Fixed: Related terms and related questions appear below your terms again on sites that also use Signocore Toolkit.
- Fixed: Jumping to a letter on the glossary page highlights the right letter every time, including letters like Æ and Ñ and on themes with smooth scrolling, such as Kadence.
- Fixed: The Add New button on the term list is translated.
- Fixed: The term screens say Term where they used to say Post.
- Fixed: The Recent Terms widget stays visible when the number of terms is left empty. Save a hidden widget once to bring it back.
- Fixed: The term count shortcode matches the count shown in the glossary search.
Related reading
Guides from the blog on glossaries, internal linking, and building topical authority.
Building a WordPress Glossary: Why Internal Linking Drives SEO
Most sites ignore their highest-leverage SEO asset. A glossary silently powers internal linking across your entire site — here's how to build one that works.
Read the article →Internal Linking Strategy: How to Build Topic Clusters That Rank
Most sites leave internal linking to chance. Learn how to build topic clusters that distribute authority, signal topical depth, and move rankings.
Read the article →What Is Topical Authority and How Do You Build It?
Sites with topical authority rank for more keywords with less link building. Here's the exact framework to build it - and why most content strategies miss the point.
Read the article →Free. Forever.
No account, no upsell tier, no subscription of any kind.
Questions? Get in touch. Answered by the developer who wrote the plugin, usually within a day.