External Permalinks Redux
by Erick Hitter · Uncategorized
Also makes 12 other plugins · 47K+ installs across the portfolio →
Allows you to point WordPress objects (posts, pages, custom post types) to a URL of your choosing.
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
B 75/100
Few reviews
Active installs
2K+
≈2.7K estimated
Momentum
+47%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “permalinks”, “302” and “permanent” to your wp.org tags. You rank #10, #22 and #22 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed these are the slots worth spending.
75 health vs 58 average across 25,752 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →8.1%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 24.6K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,773 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized 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 1 release 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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 289 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.9.11, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
Get the full rank-higher report →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.
34
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.9
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
14%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.7
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| redux | #2 | #5 | 0 |
| external | #9 | #14 | 0 |
| external link your tag | #10 | #18 | up 2 |
| permalinks | #10 | #19 | down 3 |
| permalink your tag | #16 | #19 | down 3 |
| external links | #17 | #21 | 0 |
| external posts | #11 | #21 | down 1 |
| custom permalinks | #12 | #22 | down 1 |
| permanent | #22 | #21 | down 2 |
| external url | #15 | #17 | down 1 |
| external post link | #17 | #23 | down 1 |
| external page | #19 | #21 | down 4 |
| custom permalink | #23 | #22 | down 3 |
| link your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| redirect your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
23 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 13 listed. 10 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
- Add “permalinks”, “302” and “permanent” to your wp.org tags. You rank #10, #22 and #22 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed these are the slots worth spending.
- One page off on “permalink”. #16 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 387 · 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
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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
10mo ago
latest release · v1.3.2 · 16 Jan 2026
10
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 38% run the current release. 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 “2K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 11 months ago; the previous band took 17 months to cross, which places it about 68% of the way through.
Install history since 2 Jun 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Emin M.8mo ago
Works as expected. Maybe you should consider adding the link target.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Howard Harkness9.5y ago
This plugin does almost exactly what I need out of the box, but I wanted for the URL redirect to go to a new page/tab. Turns out that was easier than I expected. I just had to add the target=”_blank” to my content.php file in my child theme. Thank you for saving me a LOT of time!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ bryantighe9.6y ago
Simple yet easy functionality – this is exactly what I was looking for. I was thinking about writing this type of plugin myself, because we have a bunch of content on other parts of our domain outside of wordpress. But this plugin came up in the search, and I couldn’t have written it better myself! Works like a charm!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Debraj Rakshit10.6y ago
Worked as expected.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.3.2 Fix translations when plugin is used with older WordPress versions. 1.3.2
- — Version 1.3.1 Fix translations in block editor. 1.3.1
- — Version 1.3 Introduce block-editor (Gutenberg) sidebar component for supported post types.. 1.3
- — Version 1.2 Introduce get_redirect_data() method to look up a post ID’s redirect. Introduce PHPUnit tests Conform to current VIP Go Coding Standards. 1.2
- — Version 1.1 Introduce a filter to change the metabox title for clarity. Does break translation for that string if used. Add additional HTML classes in the metabox to aid customization. Coding standards and PHPDoc cleanup. 1.1
- — Version 1.0.4 Implement singleton pattern for instantiation. Thanks batmoo. 1.0.4
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 6.0
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
2 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Allows you to point WordPress objects (posts, pages, custom post types) to a URL of your choosing."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 867 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 4 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-11-27 1K+ → 2K+ up after 496 days in tier
- 2024-07-19 2K+ → 1K+ down after 840 days in tier
- 2022-04-01 1K+ → 2K+ 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).
- P Page Links To 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags A
-
LH Page Links To 400+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags D -
Custom Post Type Permalinks 200K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Custom Permalinks 100K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A -
Link Juice Keeper 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
WP Post Redirect 3K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for External Permalinks Redux into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/external-permalinks-redux" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="External Permalinks Redux — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> External Permalinks Redux: 2K+ active installs, 5.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/external-permalinks-redux
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