This is a wordpress plugin which removes the link to the current Page in wp_list_pages()
It addresses certain usability and web stats issues.
On a site I was working on, developed entirely in WordPress, I noticed that in some cases up to 20% of users clicked on the link for the page they were on.
WordPress doesn’t remove the link to the current page automatically.
Usability
Jakob Nielsen states you should never have a link that points to the current page.
He points out the problems with linking to the page your on:
- If they click it, a link leading to the current page is an utter waste of users’ time.
- Worse, such links cause users to doubt whether they’re really at the location they think they’re at.
- Worst of all, if users do follow these no-op links they’ll be confused as to their new location, particularly if the page is scrolled back to the top.
Web Stats & Analytics
In addition to usability concerns, if you have a business site and are running Google Analytics or another stats package, users clicking on the link for the page they’re on is going to mess with your stats when you want to look into how people navigate your site.
On my test site over a three month period 22.56% of people entered the Contact page, having coming from the Contact page and 22.56% of people exited the Contact page from the Contact page.
This stands to reason if people are clicking on the link for the page they’re on, but it messes with my lovely clear analysis of visitor behaviour on the site.
Impact
Consider the impact of this on your site – is it frustrating & confusing your visitors? Are you losing visitors as a result? Could you be funneling these users to elsewhere on your site instead?
CSS
Depending on your theme, you may need to modify your css to make sure you’re current page text fits in with your navigation. If you’re just using the default theme it should be fine.
John Blackbourn Rocks
This plugin was developed for me by John Blackbourn. He’s a legend.
Donate
No donations being sought, but I’d love if you spread the word about the plugin 
Instructions
This is a very simple little plugin – just download it, unzip it, upload the php file remove-link-to-current-page.php to your plugins directory and activate it through the Plugin Management in WordPress admin section.
Problems / Questions
This is a fairly straightforward plugin – does what it says on the tin and all that, but if you have questions send me an email and I will do my best to answer them.
