Random Redirect
by Matt Mullenweg · Uncategorized
Also makes 17 other plugins · 601.9K+ installs across the portfolio →
Allows you to create a link to yourblog.example.com/?random which will redirect someone to a random post on your blog, in a StumbleUpon-like fashion. You can also specific in the URL `random_post_type` or `random_cat_id`.
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
D 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈200 estimated
Momentum
-15%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Update recency scores 0/100. Last updated 6662 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
45 health vs 58 average across 25,736 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.4%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 25.2K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,764 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.
Removal-risk signals
51/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 18+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- No tested-up-to version. The listing declares no "Tested up to" version.
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 6662 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
No "Tested up to" declared, treated as a major version behind
5.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
0 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 6662 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 183 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
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.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% 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 “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 10 days ago and the previous band took 15 months to cross, so the real count is still just under 200.
Install history since 24 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Anonymous12.8y ago
This little plug-in does exactly what it says it does. I was afraid I’d lose it after a long-delayed upgrade to WordPress 3.8, but it seems to be functioning without a hiccup.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ BionicBeauty13.6y ago
This plugin is small, doesn’t bog down my websites, and runs great on every version of WordPress! I’m currently running it on three sites on WP 3.5.1 and there are zero issues. Does exactly what it should, flawlessly!
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
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
1 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 create a link to yourblog.example.com/?random which will redirect someone to a random post on..."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! 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 221 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text No tags set.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-21 200+ → 100+ down after 462 days in tier
- 2025-07-16 300+ → 200+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2025-07-10 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-07-09 300+ → 200+ down after 81 days in tier
- 2025-04-19 200+ → 300+ up after 391 days in tier
- 2024-03-24 300+ → 200+ down after 245 days in tier
- 2023-07-23 400+ → 300+ down after 173 days in tier
- 2023-01-31 300+ → 400+ up after 212 days in tier
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Random Redirect into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/random-redirect" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Random Redirect — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Random Redirect: 100+ active installs, 5.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/random-redirect
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