diff --git a/scripts/construct-leaflet-map.js b/scripts/construct-leaflet-map.js
index e7fc82a..73d2f43 100644
--- a/scripts/construct-leaflet-map.js
+++ b/scripts/construct-leaflet-map.js
@@ -200,10 +200,29 @@
       return output;
     };
 
+    /**
+     * Trim whitespace
+     * @param {string} a
+     * @returns string
+     */
     function trim(a) {
       return a.trim ? a.trim() : a.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/gm, '');
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Gets string of anchor for Leaflet's consumption
+     * @param {Record<'href' | 'textContent', string>} atts
+     */
+    function makeStringLink(atts) {
+      const a = document.createElement('a');
+      a.href = atts.href;
+      a.textContent = atts.textContent;
+      a.target = '_blank';
+      a.rel = 'noopener noreferrer';
+
+      return a.outerHTML;
+    }
+
     function addAttributionToMap(attribution, map) {
       if (!attribution) {
         return;
@@ -218,6 +237,19 @@
 
       for (var i = 0, len = attributions.length; i < len; i++) {
         var att = trim(attributions[i]);
+
+        // add liquid-style attribution: {WP | link: https://wordpress.com}
+        att = liquid(att, function (match, obj) {
+          if (obj.link) {
+            return makeStringLink({
+              href: obj.link,
+              textContent: obj.key,
+            });
+          }
+
+          return match;
+        });
+
         attControl.addAttribution(att);
       }
     }
@@ -228,8 +260,6 @@
       return div.innerText || str;
     });
 
-    var templateRe = /\{ *(.*?) *\}/g;
-
     /**
      * It interpolates variables in curly brackets (regex above)
      *
@@ -243,8 +273,8 @@
         return str;
       }
 
-      return str.replace(templateRe, function (match, key) {
-        var obj = liquid(key);
+      // @since 2.21.0 allow for a `default` filter for missing properties
+      return liquid(str, function (match, obj) {
         var value = parseKey(data, obj.key);
         if (value == null) {
           return obj.default || match;
@@ -301,32 +331,42 @@
       return value;
     }
 
+    var liquidRe = /{+ *(.*?) *}+/g;
+
     /**
      * parses liquid tags from a string
      *
      * @param {string} str
      */
-    function liquid(str) {
-      var tags = str.split(' | ');
-      var obj = {};
-
-      // removes initial variable from array
-      var key = tags.shift();
-
-      for (var i = 0, len = tags.length; i < len; i++) {
-        var tag = tags[i].split(': ');
-        var tagName = tag.shift();
-        var tagValue = tag.join(': ') || true;
-
-        obj[tagName] = tagValue;
-      }
+    function liquid(str, callback) {
+      return str.replace(liquidRe, function (match, group) {
+        /** @type string[] */
+        var tags = group.split(' | ');
+        var obj = {};
+
+        // removes initial variable from array
+        var filter = tags.shift();
+
+        for (var i = 0, len = tags.length; i < len; i++) {
+          var tag = tags[i];
+          var delimiter = tag.indexOf(':');
+          var tagName = trim(delimiter === -1 ? tag : tag.slice(0, delimiter));
+          var tagValue =
+            delimiter === -1 ? true : trim(tag.slice(delimiter + 1));
+
+          obj[tagName] = tagValue;
+        }
 
-      // always preserve the original string
-      obj.key = key;
+        // always preserve the original string
+        obj.key = filter;
 
-      return obj;
+        return callback(match, obj);
+      });
     }
 
+    // export for tests
+    this.liquid = liquid;
+
     function waitFor(prop, cb) {
       if (typeof L !== 'undefined' && typeof L[prop] !== 'undefined') {
         cb();
diff --git a/tests/addAttribution.test.js b/tests/addAttribution.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cedac32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/addAttribution.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+require('../scripts/construct-leaflet-map');
+
+const plugin = window.WPLeafletMapPlugin;
+
+// mock leaflet functions (kind of long-winded)
+const addAttribution = jest.fn();
+window.L = {
+  control: {
+    attribution: () => ({
+      addTo: () => ({
+        addAttribution,
+      }),
+    }),
+  },
+  map: jest.fn(),
+};
+
+const originalAttribution =
+  '<a href="http://leafletjs.com">Leaflet</a>; © <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright">OpenStreetMap</a> contributors';
+
+describe('addAttribution', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    jest.clearAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it('does not call addAttribution if not present in options', () => {
+    plugin.createMap({});
+
+    expect(L.map).toHaveBeenCalledWith(undefined, expect.any(Object));
+    expect(addAttribution).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('calls addAttribution with original (backwards-compatible) HTML string', () => {
+    plugin.createMap({
+      attribution: originalAttribution,
+    });
+
+    const attributions = originalAttribution.split('; ');
+
+    expect(addAttribution).toHaveBeenCalledWith(attributions[0]);
+    expect(addAttribution).toHaveBeenCalledWith(attributions[1]);
+  });
+
+  it('calls original attribution with markdown string', () => {
+    const attribution =
+      '{Leaflet | link: http://leafletjs.com}; © {OpenStreetMap | link: http://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright} contributors';
+
+    plugin.createMap({
+      attribution,
+    });
+
+    const attributions = originalAttribution.split('; ');
+
+    expect(addAttribution).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      '<a href="http://leafletjs.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Leaflet</a>'
+    );
+    expect(addAttribution).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      '© <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OpenStreetMap</a> contributors'
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('works without a space after the filter', () => {
+    const attribution = '{Leaflet | link:http://leafletjs.com}';
+
+    plugin.createMap({
+      attribution,
+    });
+
+    const attributions = originalAttribution.split('; ');
+
+    expect(addAttribution).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      '<a href="http://leafletjs.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Leaflet</a>'
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/liquid.test.js b/tests/liquid.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aa93b03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/liquid.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+require('../scripts/construct-leaflet-map');
+
+const plugin = window.WPLeafletMapPlugin;
+
+describe('liquid', () => {
+  const observer = jest.fn();
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    jest.clearAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it('parses a boolean filter', () => {
+    const str = '{ test | isBoolean }';
+
+    plugin.liquid(str, observer);
+
+    expect(observer).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      str,
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        key: 'test',
+        isBoolean: true,
+      })
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('also parses when liquid tag is doubled', () => {
+    const str = '{{ test }}';
+
+    plugin.liquid(str, observer);
+
+    expect(observer).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      str,
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        key: 'test',
+      })
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('does not parse when tag is malformed', () => {
+    const str = '{ test ';
+
+    const output = plugin.liquid(str, observer);
+
+    expect(observer).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(output).toEqual(str);
+  });
+
+  it('does not parse when bar is missing whitespace', () => {
+    const str = '{ test|isBoolean }';
+
+    const output = plugin.liquid(str, observer);
+
+    expect(observer).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.any(String),
+      expect.not.objectContaining({
+        isBoolean: true,
+      })
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('accepts multiple filters', () => {
+    const str = '{ test | default: yolo | substr: 0,4 | lowercase }';
+
+    plugin.liquid(str, observer);
+
+    expect(observer).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.any(String),
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        key: 'test',
+        default: 'yolo',
+        substr: '0,4',
+        lowercase: true,
+      })
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('does not have key as a filter', () => {
+    const str = '{ key | key: not key }';
+
+    plugin.liquid(str, observer);
+
+    expect(observer).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.any(String),
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        key: 'key',
+      })
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/types.d.ts b/tests/types.d.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index e1cea4a..0000000
--- a/tests/types.d.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,41 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * VSCode sometimes recognizes this file 🤷‍♀️
- * maybe the tests should just be written in typescript
- */
-interface Options {
-  fitBounds: boolean;
-  attribution: string;
-}
-
-type LeafletMap = {};
-type LeafletFeatureGroup = {};
-
-// helps with some intellisense
-export declare global {
-  interface Window {
-    WPLeafletMapPlugin: {
-      push(cb: () => void): void;
-      unshift(cb: () => void): void;
-      init(): void;
-      createMap(options: Options): LeafletMap;
-      createImageMap(options: Options): LeafletMap;
-      getCurrentMap(): LeafletMap;
-      getCurrentGroup(): LeafletFeatureGroup;
-      getGroup(map: LeafletMap): LeafletFeatureGroup;
-      newMarkerGroup(map: LeafletMap): LeafletFeatureGroup;
-      propsToTable(props: {}): string;
-      template(str: string, data: {}): string;
-      waitForSVG(cb: () => void): void;
-      waitForAjax(cb: () => void): void;
-      createScale(options: {}): void;
-      maps: LeafletMap[];
-      images: LeafletMap[];
-      markergroups: Record<number, LeafletGroup>;
-      markers: {}[];
-      lines: {}[];
-      polygons: {}[];
-      circles: {}[];
-      geojson: {}[];
-    };
-  }
-}