Custom Permalinks
by Sami Ahmed Siddiqui · SEO
Also makes 6 other plugins · 114.4K+ installs across the portfolio →
A powerful WordPress plugin for full URL control. Set custom permalinks, auto-redirects, and use dynamic tags for ideal site structure and SEO.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 86/100
no flags
Active installs
100K+
≈190K estimated
Momentum
+130%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “redirect”, “seo” and “slug” for “site structure”, “ideal” and “custom”. “redirect” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “site structure” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “seo” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “ideal” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “slug” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #13. “custom” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
86 health vs 65 average across 2,224 SEO plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.7%
of downloads still active
At least 100K of 2.7M lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median SEO plugin keeps 1.2%, across 1,193 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other SEO plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 6 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 19 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.1★ over 116 reviews, smoothed to 4.10★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
4 of 4 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
40
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
25%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.5
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| custom permalinks | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| permalinks | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| custom url your tag | #2 | #2 | up 7 |
| permalink your tag | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| custom permalink | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| permalinks structure | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| custom slug | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| site structure | #4 | #5 | down 1 |
| custom redirect | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| custom tags | #2 | #2 | — |
| permalink structure | #2 | #2 | down 1 |
| ideal | #5 | #7 | up 12 |
| full url | #7 | #7 | down 1 |
| custom control | #3 | #4 | 0 |
| custom page url | #3 | #4 | — |
| structure | #11 | #13 | up 6 |
| slug your tag | #13 | #13 | up 8 |
| custom post url | #5 | #6 | up 1 |
| dynamic tags | #13 | #15 | up 10 |
| cyrillic | #9 | #5 | 0 |
| redirect your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| seo your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
413 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 381 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “redirect”, “seo” and “slug” for “site structure”, “ideal” and “custom”. “redirect” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “site structure” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “seo” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “ideal” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “slug” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #13. “custom” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “slug”. #13 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 110.3K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
6
releases in the last 12 months
19d ago
latest release · v3.3.3 · 13 Oct 2026
108
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “100K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 9.6 years ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 4 Aug 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ poolingmaster4mo ago
I have a website with thousands of posts on it, and using this for permalinks has caused a slew of issues over the years of me running it. Unfortunately, I’ve got little choice but to keep using it since it has all the data for my permalinks inside of it. The particular issue that I’m currently facing really hurts my website. It causes the inability to bulk edit posts properly. There is a bug in which the first post in the order of the ones I’ve selected has its permalink copied over the posts underneath it. So if I select a bunch of posts in the editor, with the intention of *just* changing tags, it’ll also copy the first post’s permalink to all the ones I’ve selected. When this happens, you have no choice but to go back and manually edit all of those permalinks back. This wastes hours of my time. I almost did this to a lot of pages on accident before I even noticed what happened. It’s hard to recommend something with such a glaringly bad bug. I’m not interested in going out of my way to purchase premium support for something that hasn’t been updated in nearly a year, either. I have nothing I can do except grit my teeth through this and press on. That’s hugely unacceptable in my eyes. I highly recommend skipping over this plugin and finding a different one. There’s plenty of others like it.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dondonkiii1.2y ago
Did not work… I dont think this is a functional plugin. it has 4 stars in total with lots of 1 stars i guess it is what it is. I deleted the plugin and it is fine now.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ saad77772.1y ago
blog post are redirecting to some other post. i dunno why. but deactivating this plugin resolved the issue. So the issue must be in the plugin. is there anything i can do in this situation?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ nimonogi2.7y ago
Excellent plugin. I would really like to see categories included as well.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ddayoverlordwebmaster2.9y ago
Once you have installed this plugin, there is no turning back. These redirections are causing SEO issues and Google won’t index my website because of them. I faced multiple URL crashes when I desactivated the plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ alexnenov2.9y ago
It caused redirect issues and Google stopped indexing many important pages of our site.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ john0zhuang3.3y ago
Thank you very much, this plugin solves a lot of problems
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Ali BZ3.5y ago
Exactly what I wanted
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 3.1.2 Bug: Prevent adding slash if home_url() contains one 3.1.2
- — Version 3.1.1 Bugs: PHP 8.x Warnings Admin Polylang Redirect Issue Lost password link conflict Custom Permalinks is conflicting with Gravity View plugin 3.1.1
- — Version 3.1.0 Permalink Generation: Resolved an issue where the custom_permalinks_generate_post_permalink function was creating duplicate permalinks with appended numbers when triggered programmatically. This ensures a unique, clean U 3.1.0
- — Version 3.0.1 Fix PHP warning on url_to_postid() filter. 3.0.1
- — Version 3.0.0 This release of Custom Permalinks brings significant enhancements to post type permalink management, introduces new customization options, and refines the overall user and developer experience. Added Post Type Permalink 3.0.0
- — Version 3.2.0 Permalink Generation: * Added support for name-based custom taxonomy permalink tags: * %ctax_TAXONOMY_NAME_name% * %ctax_parent_TAXONOMY_NAME_name% * %ctax_parents_TAXONOMY_NAME_name% * Use multiple custom taxonomies tag 3.2.0
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 3 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (3.3.3). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 4.4 Custom Permalinks <= 2.6.0 - Authenticated(Editor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2024-08-23 CVE-2023-0926 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.6.0 Patched in 2.7.0
- 2018-02-26 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.1 Patched in 1.2
- 2018-02-26 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command Affects <= 1.1 Patched in 1.2
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.9
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 26 languages, 9 at 90% or more
Plus 2 more locales with partial translations.
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
7 of 8 pass · checked 25 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A powerful WordPress plugin for full URL control. Set custom permalinks, auto-redirects, and use dynamic ta..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 11 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 11 of 11 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you need"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce, WPML, Polylang, LinkedIn.
- ✓ Headings and lists 5 headings and 5 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 6,361 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2017-04-11 80K+ → 100K+ up after 212 days in tier
- 2016-09-11 70K+ → 80K+ up after 315 days in tier
- 2015-11-01 60K+ → 70K+ up
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Remove Taxonomy URL 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags B -
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Redirect 404 to Homepage 60K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
Remove Category URL – Remove ‘category’ base from category permalinks 40K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
WP 404 Auto Redirect to Similar Post 30K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags B -
Remove CPT base 10K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Custom Permalinks into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/custom-permalinks" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Custom Permalinks — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Custom Permalinks: 100K+ active installs, 4.1★ (116 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/custom-permalinks
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