Pic-Time Connect

by pictime

Description

Pic-Time Connect automatically generates comprehensive image sitemaps for all your Pic-Time photo galleries, helping search engines discover and index your images for better SEO performance.

Key Features

🎯 Smart SEO Analysis – Automatically detects and processes Pic-Time galleries
📱 WordPress Integration – Seamlessly integrates with WordPress 5.5+ sitemap system
⚡ Performance Optimized – Focused data processing for faster sitemap generation
🔧 Selective Mode – Choose which galleries to include in sitemaps
🌐 Multiple Formats – Supports both standalone and WordPress-integrated sitemaps
🛡️ SEO Plugin Compatible – Works alongside popular SEO plugins
🔍 Robots.txt Management – Advanced troubleshooting and diagnostics tools

How It Works

The plugin scans your posts and pages for Pic-Time gallery embed codes, extracts image data from the Pic-Time API, and generates XML sitemaps that search engines can easily crawl and index. This helps improve your images’ visibility in search results.

Sitemap Integration

WordPress Sitemap Integration: Images appear in your main WordPress sitemap index (/wp-sitemap.xml)
Standalone Sitemaps: Alternative endpoints for maximum compatibility
Robots.txt Integration: Automatically adds sitemap URLs to your robots.txt file

Robots.txt Management

Diagnostic Tool: One-click testing and automatic fix attempts
Platform-Specific Guides: Instructions for WordPress.com, WP Engine, Kinsta, and more
SEO Plugin Integration: Step-by-step guides for Yoast, Rank Math, SEOPress, and others
Force Add Option: Override SEO plugin conflicts when needed

Selective Gallery Mode

Control which galleries are included in your sitemaps using the data-pt-sitemap="true" attribute on gallery embed codes. Perfect for:

Privacy control for personal galleries
Improved performance with fewer galleries
Strategic SEO management

Developer Features

Comprehensive debug logging
Action hooks and filters for customization
SEO plugin compatibility detection
Maintenance tools for troubleshooting

External Services

This plugin connects to external services provided by Pic-Time to function properly:

Pic-Time Update Service

Service: Pic-Time Plugin Update Server
URL: https://pictime1system.blob.core.windows.net/pictures/pt_wordpress_plugins/version.json
Purpose: To check for plugin updates and display notifications to administrators
Data Sent: Plugin version number and site URL (for compatibility checking)
When: Once daily via WordPress cron, or when manually checked by administrators
Privacy Policy: https://www.pic-time.com/privacy-policy
Terms of Service: https://www.pic-time.com/terms-of-service

Pic-Time Gallery API

Service: Pic-Time Image Data API
Purpose: To fetch image metadata from your Pic-Time galleries for sitemap generation
Data Sent: Gallery IDs extracted from your embed codes
When: When generating sitemaps or when pages containing Pic-Time galleries are processed
Privacy Policy: https://www.pic-time.com/privacy-policy
Terms of Service: https://www.pic-time.com/terms-of-service

This plugin only functions with existing Pic-Time gallery accounts and embed codes. No data is sent without your explicit configuration of Pic-Time galleries on your website.

Support

For support with this plugin, please visit the Pic-Time support forum.

For Pic-Time account and gallery-related questions, please contact Pic-Time support.

Privacy Policy

This plugin does not collect, store, or transmit any personal data. It only processes publicly available image URLs from your Pic-Time galleries to generate search engine sitemaps.

Third-Party Services

This plugin communicates with Pic-Time’s servers to retrieve image metadata for sitemap generation. Please review Pic-Time’s Privacy Policy for information about their data handling practices.

Development

This plugin follows WordPress coding standards and best practices:

Full internationalization support with proper text domains
Secure coding practices with proper input validation and output escaping
WordPress filesystem API usage for file operations
Proper database query optimization with caching
SEO plugin compatibility detection and handling
Comprehensive error handling and logging

Technical Requirements

WordPress 5.0 or higher (5.5+ recommended for full sitemap integration)
PHP 7.4 or higher
Active Pic-Time galleries on your website
Public site visibility for robots.txt integration

Credits

Developed by Shahaf Wieder with Claude AI assistance.
Special thanks to the Pic-Time team for API support and integration guidance.

Installation

Upload the plugin files to the /wp-content/plugins/pic-time-connect directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly.
Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress.
Go to Tools Pic-Time Connect to configure settings.
Your sitemaps will be automatically generated and integrated with WordPress sitemaps (if available).

Screenshots

Main admin interface showing sitemap URLs and system information
Plugin settings with selective gallery mode and WordPress integration options
Robots.txt management with diagnostic tools and troubleshooting guides
SEO plugin compatibility detection and warnings

Faq

What is Pic-Time?

Pic-Time is a professional photo gallery service that allows photographers and businesses to showcase their images with advanced features like client galleries, proofing, and e-commerce integration.

Do I need Pic-Time galleries to use this plugin?

Yes, this plugin is specifically designed to work with Pic-Time gallery embed codes. It extracts image data from Pic-Time’s API to generate SEO-optimized sitemaps.

Will this plugin work with other gallery plugins?

No, this plugin is specifically designed for Pic-Time galleries. It focuses on optimizing SEO for Pic-Time’s unique gallery structure and API.

How do I enable selective gallery mode?

Go to Tools Pic-Time Connect
Check the “Selective Gallery Mode” option in Plugin Settings
Contact Pic-Time support to add the data-pt-sitemap="true" attribute to your gallery embed codes
Only galleries with this attribute will be included in sitemaps

Where can I find my sitemaps?

Your sitemaps are available at:
* WordPress Integration: /wp-sitemap.xml
* Standalone XML: /ptbsb_image_sitemap.xml
* Alternative Format: /?direct_image_sitemap=1

Is this compatible with other SEO plugins?

Yes, the plugin is designed to work alongside popular SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, RankMath, SEOPress, and others. The plugin includes compatibility detection and will warn you of potential conflicts.

How do I troubleshoot robots.txt issues?

Go to Tools Pic-Time Connect
Scroll to “Robots.txt Management”
Click “Run Diagnostic & Force Add” for automatic troubleshooting
Click “View Manual Troubleshooting Guide” for platform-specific instructions

How do I troubleshoot other issues?

Go to Tools Pic-Time Connect
Enable debug logging in the Debug Options section
Use the “Reset & Flush” tool to clear caches
Download the debug log for detailed information
Check the System Information section for compatibility issues

Reviews

Great for Boosting SEO performance

By shahafpt on September 8, 2025

Super easy and transparent plugin. Just activate and let it integrate automatically with Pic-time originated blog posts. It instantly creates a secondary sitemap to improve search engines indexing and visibility. In plugin tools some settings can be adjusted easily. It may take a few weeks for the results to show but that's standard duration for search engines crawl.

Changelog

2.0.0 – December 2024

Major Release: Complete robots.txt management overhaul
New: Run Diagnostic & Force Add – One-click troubleshooting tool
New: Manual troubleshooting guide with platform-specific instructions (WordPress.com, WP Engine, Kinsta, etc.)
New: SEO plugin integration guides (Yoast, Rank Math, SEOPress, AIOSEO, etc.)
New: Force Add checkbox to override SEO plugin conflicts
New: Unified caching system for WordPress integration (7-day cache for large sites)
New: Background cache regeneration for zero user wait time
Enhanced: Dual JavaScript handlers for improved reliability across platforms
Enhanced: Copy-to-clipboard buttons for sitemap URLs
Fixed: Force Add checkbox being overridden by integration checks
Fixed: WordPress.com and restricted platform button functionality
Fixed: Cache bypass in WordPress sitemap integration
Fixed: Admin notice detection for restricted hosting environments

1.6.1 – November 2024

Fixed: Post count accuracy (now shows only published posts)
Fixed: Image data persistence (cached images prevent API re-fetch)
Fixed: WordPress integration fallback mechanism
Fixed: Multiple SEO plugin detection and handling
New: Smart cache quality management system
Performance: 10x faster sitemap generation via image caching
Performance: Instant response for large sites with background updates

1.6.0 – October 2024

WordPress.org compliance: Removed all static inline styles
Code quality: Moved inline styles to CSS classes
Performance: Optimized CSS loading and organization

1.5.2

Improved SEO plugin conflict resolution
Replaced links and text

1.5.1

Fixed modal functionality issues
Removed debug console logging
Fixed WordPress.org compliance issues
Improved variable escaping for security
Enhanced modal CSS specificity

1.5.0

First stable production release
WordPress sitemap integration enabled by default
Automatic and manual update checking system
Streamlined admin interface with modal popups
Full internationalization support
Complete WordPress standards compliance
Rebranded from “Pic-Time Blog SEO Booster” to “Pic-Time Connect”