We created this lightweight plugin to assist us in finding a suitable Social Media Handle (Account Name) for 2Ports that is the same across all channels.
And then we made it available for you:
Check Social Media Handle Availability
Enter your desired handle (e.g., 2Ports or Algoa2Ports) to check availability:
Note: Because of the way that the various channels handle URL’s we recommend that you double check by clicking on each of the links provided. Click Here to suggest Social Media Channels you would like added.
Since external social media platforms (like Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, and LinkedIn) heavily restrict automated scraping, programmatic queries, or API calls for public handle checking without official developer app credentials, the most reliable and lightweight method for a WordPress plugin is HTTP status code checking (HEAD/GET requests) combined with direct URL construction.
When you type a handle, the plugin uses WordPress’s built-in HTTP API (wp_remote_head) to ping the custom profile URLs. If the platform returns a 404 (Not Found), it indicates the handle is likely available. If it returns a 200 (OK), the handle is likely taken.
We provide the full social media handle URLs as well so that you can perform a manual lookup to confirm and/or to contact the account owner to ‘make an offer’!
