Single Category Permalink
by Scott Reilly · Uncategorized
Also makes 64 other plugins · 78.4K+ installs across the portfolio →
Reduce permalinks (category or post) that include entire hierarchy of categories to just having the lowest level category.
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 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
400+
≈450 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: Swap “category” for “postname”. “category” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “postname” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
47 health vs 58 average across 25,762 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.4%
of downloads still active
At least 400 of 28.6K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,772 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
53/100Maintenance 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 5+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.8.19.
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 1860 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.8.19; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 5 reviews, smoothed to 4.18★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 1860 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
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.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| postname | #23 | #17 | down 1 |
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| coffee2code your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| link your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| permalink your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| structure your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “category” for “postname”. “category” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “postname” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 156 · 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
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
5.1y ago
latest release · v2.5.2 · 29 Sep 2021
15
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 82% 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 “400+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 7 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 6 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ hangtotnenmua5.8y ago
nice plugins! i love you! chup chup
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Rabby6.8y ago
Unstopable thanks, So far it can be said. This tiny plugin is very very helpful to make good url structure for big site, which is huge category and sub-category. [Note: I’m not good at English so much]
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dandeedo8.5y ago
gives you full control of your category permalinks… Really great plugin, works well!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dandeedo8.5y ago
gives you full control of your category permalinks… Really great plugin, works well!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ rojer_3111.4y ago
Works as it says on the tin 🙂 My request would be to allow a configuration or hook to determine if both categories & posts need to be affected or just one of them. I’m right now facing this issue & need to disable this functionality for all the categories, but have it enabled for all the posts.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dmykos11.5y ago
Great plugin. I tested it with WordPress 4.2.2 – works perfectly.
Read on wp.org ↗
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
4 of 8 pass · checked 2 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you have"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,676 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "coffee2code" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-03-27 500+ → 400+ down after 236 days in tier
- 2025-08-03 600+ → 500+ down after 303 days in tier
- 2024-10-04 700+ → 600+ down after 272 days in tier
- 2024-01-06 800+ → 700+ down after 12 days in tier
- 2023-12-25 700+ → 800+ up after 12 days in tier
- 2023-12-13 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2023-12-12 700+ → 800+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2023-12-10 800+ → 700+ down after 207 days in tier
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).
-
Custom Post Type Permalinks 200K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A - W WP No Base Permalink 10K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
- W WP Category Permalink 2K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D
- E External Permalinks Redux 2K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags B
- E Enhanced Custom Permalinks 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags C
- P Permalink Editor 1K+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Single Category Permalink into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/single-category-permalink" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Single Category Permalink — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Single Category Permalink: 400+ active installs, 5.0★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/single-category-permalink
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