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SEO Neo - 1.1.3 available

Peter Knight

By Peter Knight
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Peter Knight Hero Member

Peter Knight

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

I've made the SeoNeo repo public as planned.

SEO Neo is a modern SEO module for ProcessWire that started as a practical fix for real-world canonical, pagination, and hreflang bugs on multilingual sites, and grew into a full replacement path for MarkupSEO and Seo Maestro.

GitHub: https://github.com/PeterKnightDigital/SeoNeo
Current version: 1.1.3 · Requires: ProcessWire 3.0.200+, PHP 8.1+

What makes it different
SeoNeo is a coordinator module, not a custom Fieldtype. It creates ordinary ProcessWire fields (Text, Textarea, URL, Checkbox, etc.), reads them via a configurable mapping, resolves fallbacks, and renders the <head> block.

That means:

  • Every SEO value is a real PW field — full multi-language support, selectors, import/export
  • No custom database schema or Fieldtype complexity
  • The SEO tab sits alongside your existing Content / Settings tabs

Add seoneo_tab to a template and save — the rest of the SEO fieldset (seoneo_preview, title, description, canonical, robots, etc.) is inserted automatically.

What it outputs
Full <head> SEO block in one call: 

echo $page->seoneo;
// or
echo $page->seoneo->render();


Includes:

  • <title> with configurable format, separator, site name, pagination placeholders
  • Meta description, keywords, author
  • Canonical URL (with configurable URL-segment and pagination policy)
  • Robots meta (noindex/nofollow per page, auto-noindex for unpublished/hidden pages, site-wide defaults)
  • Granular Google robots directives (max-snippet, max-image-preview, etc.)
  • AI/LLM opt-out signals (noai, noimageai) — polite signals, not a substitute for blocking bots at HTTP/robots.txt level
  • Open Graph (title, description, url, type, site name, locale, image + dimensions/secure_url/type)
  • Twitter/X cards (auto summary vs summary_large_image)
  • Hreflang alternates with configurable BCP47 map (default=en-GB, de=de-AT, etc.)
  • Search-engine verification tags (Google, Bing, Yandex, Pinterest, Facebook, Baidu)
  • JSON-LD @graph emitter (Consider BETA IE works, but API/defaults may still change; hooks recommended for production-critical schema) 
  • Partial renders and resolved values are available too — flat API ($page->seoneo->renderOg()) or SeoMaestro-style namespaces ($page->seoneo->og->render()). Everything is hookable.

Editor / admin features
Bundled InputfieldSeoNeoPreview (installs with the module):

  • Live Google SERP preview that updates as you type
  • Desktop / mobile toggle — mobile truncates earlier (separate char budgets)
  • Multilingual language switcher on the preview card
  • Surface-aware character counters (green/amber/red zones, optional hard maxlength)
  • Per-page noindex/nofollow checkboxes
  • Optional NEO badge on the Wire tab — handy when running alongside MarkupSEO's also-named "SEO" tab during migration


Configuration highlights

  • Module config covers site name (per-language)
  • title format
  • smart field mapping with ancestor walk (*summary)
  • per-template defaults with placeholders
  • OG image field paths (including dotted paths like banner.image)
  • default OG image
  • locale map
  • Twitter handles
  • auto-inject position
  • canonical policy
    and more.
  • ProCache: documented and tested on cache-miss and cache-hit paths.

Migrating from MarkupSEO or Seo Maestro
You can run both modules during migration . You keep legacy fields on the template, copy values into seoneo_* fields at your own pace, then switch templates from $page->seo to $page->seoneo (shape is largely preserved). Migration is being worked on.

Watch for doubled <head> output if both modules auto-inject — disable auto-inject on whichever isn't authoritative yet.

Quick steps:

  1. Install SeoNeo (Modules → Refresh → Install)
  2. Add seoneo_tab to templates
  3. Copy field values (seo_description → seoneo_description, etc.)
  4. Rewrite template API calls
  5. Uninstall legacy module when ready

Full feature comparison and migration notes are in the README:
https://github.com/PeterKnightDigital/SeoNeo#migrating-from-markupseo-or-seo-maestro

Deliberately out of scope
SeoNeo focuses on <head> SEO coordination, not Swiss-Army-knife extras. For these, dedicated modules are a currently a better fit:

  • Sitemap → MarkupSitemap
  • Redirects → Jumplinks2 or ProcessRedirects
  • robots.txt editor → MarkupRobotsTxt or a template override
  • Analytics/GTM → MarkupGoogleTagManager or similar

(A PRO companion bundle with deeper editor tooling is planned separately)

Install
Copy SeoNeo to site/modules/
Modules → Refresh → Install SeoNeo
Add seoneo_tab to any template that needs SEO

Feedback very welcome. Especially from anyone migrating off MarkupSEO or Seo Maestro on multilingual or ProCache sites. Issues and PRs on GitHub are the best place for bugs and feature requests.

Cheers,
Peter

  • Thanks 1
Peter Knight Hero Member

Peter Knight

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Here's a handy FAQ with the types of issues I needed to solve and are built into SEO Neo. 

FAQ (quick answers)

1. Can meta descriptions be filled automatically from existing page fields?
Yes. Smart field mapping and per-template defaults pull from fields like summary or body when the SEO description is left blank. Auto-resolved text is truncated to a configurable length at a word boundary.

2. Can page titles get a consistent suffix (e.g. “About us | My Company”)?
Yes. That is built into module config: site name, title format, and separator — no custom code needed for the usual pattern.

3. Can I override or extend resolution logic with hooks?
Yes. Individual resolvers (title, description, OG image, etc.) are hookable, so sites with non-standard rules can plug in custom logic without forking the module.

4. Does the admin SERP preview reflect auto-resolved values?
Mostly. On load it uses the same resolver chain as the frontend. If SEO fields are empty, the preview shows the computed title and description. If an editor types into the SEO fields, those values take precedence.

5. I am on MarkupSEO or Seo Maestro — can I migrate gradually?
Yes. Both legacy fieldsets can stay on the same template while you copy values across. The SeoNeo tab can show a small NEO badge so it stays distinct when both tabs are labelled “SEO”. Migration helper planned.

FAQ Longer versions

1. Automatic descriptions from content fields
A common requirement is that staff and blog pages should not need a separate meta description when summary or body already exists.

SeoNeo handles this in module config, not by asking editors to duplicate content:

Smart field mapping defines fallbacks when seoneo_description is empty — for example, try summary, then body.
Per-template defaults go further: a [blog-post] or [person] block can set description={summary|body} so only those templates use that chain.
Truncation applies to auto-resolved values only. Values typed directly into the SEO description field are left as-is. The max length is set once in module config.
There is also an ancestor walk prefix (*fieldname) if a section landing page should supply a default description for child pages.

For edge cases — inheriting a homepage description site-wide, template-specific truncation rules, or pulling from a custom settings page — hooks on the description resolver are the extension point.

2. Title suffixes and branded <title> patterns

Another frequent ask is a predictable title pattern: Page name | company.com

That is a first-class feature via site name, title format, and title separator in module config. Per-template defaults can influence the source part of the title (e.g. {long_title|title} on blog posts) while the suffix still comes from the global format.

Homepages that already store a fully branded title in the SEO field can use a hook on the title formatter to skip the automatic suffix on that one page.

3. Hooks for custom SEO logic
Sites with existing custom SEO logic often need to tweak titles, descriptions, or OG images based on template, page ID, or external settings.

SeoNeo splits resolution into hookable steps — reading and resolving individual values, formatting the final title, resolving OG image, hreflang, and so on — rather than one monolithic hook. Render methods are hookable too if you need to append tags rather than change resolved values.

4. What the SERP preview in the admin actually shows
The bundled SERP preview calls the same PHP resolvers the frontend uses on initial render. While editing, typed SEO values take precedence; empty SEO fields fall back to server-resolved values from page load.

One limitation: the live preview watches the SEO input fields, not every source field in the fallback chain. Editing summary will not update the preview until save/reload if the description comes from smart-map. A richer fallback-chain visualisation in the editor is on the PRO roadmap.

5. Multilingual sites
Multilingual support is a common question for any SEO module, especially when hreflang and locale tags need to stay in sync with ProcessWire’s language tabs.

SeoNeo is built around native PW language-aware fields, not a separate storage layer. Each seoneo_* field behaves like any other translatable field — editors fill in SEO values per language tab, and the resolver chain returns the value for the currently active language on the frontend (or whichever language you switch $user->language to in PHP).

Configuration for multilingual output:

  • Per-language site name — override the global site name per language (e.g. de=Mein Beispiel). Used in title formatting, template defaults, and og:site_name.
  • Locale map — map PW language names to BCP47 codes (default=en-GB, de=de-AT, etc.). Powers og:locale, og:locale:alternate, and hreflang codes.
  • Hreflang alternates — emitted per language with correct URLs, including x-default pointing at the default-language URL. Segment and pagination handling matches the canonical URL policies.


In the page editor:

  • The SERP preview includes a language switcher (on multilingual sites) so editors can preview each language’s title and description without leaving the current PW language tab.
  • Resolved values in the preview use the same per-language fallback chain as the live site, including the localised URL in the breadcrumb.
  • Desktop/mobile toggle and character counters apply per surface regardless of language.
  • Smart-map and template defaults respect language context too — a German summary field resolves when the German language is active, not a mixed default.

For sites with unusual language setups (custom domain-per-language, non-standard hreflang codes, or locale rules that differ from PW’s language names), the hreflang and locale resolvers are hookable.

6. Migrating from MarkupSEO or Seo Maestro
Both legacy modules can stay installed while you move page by page:

  1. Install SeoNeo (InputfieldSeoNeoPreview installs with it).
  2. Add seoneo_tab to templates — remaining SEO fields insert automatically on save.
  3. Copy legacy values at your own pace.
  4. Switch templates from $page->seo to $page->seoneo when ready.
  5. Uninstall the legacy module when frontend output is fully on SeoNeo.


Watch for doubled <head> output if both modules auto-inject meta tags.

  • Thanks 1
Stefanowitsch Sr. Member

Stefanowitsch

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, Peter Knight said:

Thanks 🙏 Plenty of choice these days so feel free to find something that suits you. Also @maximus has a very comprehensive SEO module too. 

Yeah I just installed this module too and when comparing your module with that from maximus (and the old trusty Seo Maestro) there is no perfect "all in one" solution. Each module does something better than the other and vice versa! I think it is still mandatory to try out what module fits for your projects and fills out the gaps in your personal workflow.

For example:

I like that @maximus module includes sitemap generation and redirect handling

I like that your module offers per-template defaults 

and so on...

  • Like 1
Peter Knight Hero Member

Peter Knight

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Yes true. I purposely omitted sitemap generators in this phase. A significant volume of issues on the SEO threads are actually site map related so if I’m going to support it, I want it to work properly. And also I’m a big fan of Ryan’s pro sitemap module and simply prefer not to overlap existing modules that are actively developed. But it I’m not saying “never” 😉

  • Like 1

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