This plugin adds IDN support to WordPress, making it an IDNA application. An IDN is a domain name that contains non-ascii characters. This plugin enables one to set the WordPress address (URL) to an IDN. (instead of the Punycode Representation)
Examples of an IDN:
- bücher.ch
- domæne.dk
- nörgler.com
- uddannelsesstøtte.dk
- müller.de
- räksmörgås.nu
- 画像.jp
“An IDNA-enabled application is able to convert between the internationalised and ASCII representations of a domain name. It uses the ASCII form for DNS lookups but can present the internationalised form to users who presumably prefer to read and write domain names in non-ASCII scripts such as Arabic or Hiragana. Applications that do not support IDNA will not be able to handle domain names with non-ASCII characters, but will still be able to access such domains if given the (usually rather cryptic) ASCII equivalent.” – IDN entry at Wikipedia
In simple terms, this plugin allows one to set their blog url to an IDN.
If you are interested in seeing what the PUNYCODE version of your IDN is, here is an online conversion tool
As an example:
Frau Müller has a blog and wants to use the IDN, http://www.müller.de Currently, she would have to set the WP blog url, (General Settings menu) to the Punycode version: xn--mller-kva.de, (which is the ascii representation of müller.de) this would allow users using a IDN aware web browser to access the site using the desired url: http://www.müller.de (and also of course, xn--mller-kva.de).
It is more convenient for Frau Müller to use the actual IDN http://www.müller.de as the WP blog url setting (General Settings menu), this plugin enables that functionality.
There are a few caveats with using this plugin, depending on what Browser, Operating System and versions used, one can get unexpected results.
Firefox >= 3.*
Firefox supports IDN’s but maintains a ‘whitelist’ of ‘safe’ domains. .com, .net, .eu are not white listed for safety reasons, so IDN’s on these domains will display as Punycode. see bug:
There is an new (‘experimental’) Firefox add-on, IDN Navbar, which will enable all (whitelisted – Punycode) domains to display as IDN’s. So, if using Firefox and this plugin you (and your visitors) may want to install that addon.
Internet Explorer >= 7.*
Depending on your language set up, site’s that contain non ‘native language’ characters will display as Punycode and not the IDN. More info msdn blogs msdn libs1 msdn libs2
Safari/Opera 10.* seem to display IDN’s for all domain’s fine. (untested)
Arbitrary section
WP plugins have a ‘stable tag’ requirement for distribution, however, at this time, I consider this plugin to be Beta quality at best.
It is possible to lock your self out of the administrative section of your blog
NOTE make sure you are using an IDN capable web browser when enabling this plugin. More
NOTE Unfortunely, Current Firefox versions display the Punycode version and NOT the IDN. For more details, (and work around) see the ‘Other Notes’ Link (Arbitrary section – readme.txt)
IE7/8, Safari, Opera10 all display the actual IDN, Firefox (and Chrome) navigation bar’s display the IDN as Punycode. (i.e. www.xn--)
There are some security issues with multi-byte chars and phishing, so this is Mozilla’s current approach, this may change in the future, as some folks are not happy about it.
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=542562 another related, one: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=354592
Because this plugin effects how you access your site, installation is slightly more involved than most plugins.
If you installing this plugin, I would recommend, if possible, that it is the first thing you do on your blog, before you add any content, just in case something goes wrong, this will minimize downtime.
NOTE If something goes wrong and you cant access the WP admin area after changing your url, here are some instructions for resetting your url
Please report any bugs you find to the author of this plugin