Redirection
Plugin Review
AI-ResearchedWhat is Redirection?
Redirection is a 301 redirect manager and 404 error tracker for WordPress. Created by John Godley, it has been actively developed for 19 years. The plugin is currently at version 5.8.1, last updated on March 1, 2026. It holds over 2.0 million active installs and maintains a 4.4 out of 5 star rating from 700 ratings. A full 79% of those ratings are 9% are one-star. Redirection is designed to work on sites with a few redirects or thousands.
Its core purpose is to help you manage URL changes without touching Apache or Nginx configuration. The plugin also monitors 404 errors, helping you fix broken links. This can improve your site ranking by reducing errors. It is tested up to WordPress 6.9.4 and supports PHP from version 5.8.1 to 8.4.
Key Features of Redirection
- Redirect Manager: Create and manage 301 redirects quickly without needing server-level knowledge.
- 404 Error Tracking: Automatically logs every 404 error on your site so you can find and fix broken links.
- Conditional Redirects: Redirect based on login status, browser type, referrer, cookies, IP address, or custom HTTP headers.
- Regular Expression Support: Use regex patterns to match entire groups of URLs with a single rule.
- Full Logging: View detailed logs of every redirect, including visitor IP, browser, referrer, and hit counts.
- Automatic Post Redirects: Monitors permalink changes on posts and pages, then auto-creates a redirect to the new URL.
- HTTP Header Control: Add custom HTTP headers to redirects or your entire site to improve security or performance.
- IP Geolocation: Display geographic information about visitor IP addresses to understand your audience.
Who Should Use Redirection?
Redirection suits site owners of any skill level. Beginners can add simple 301 redirects through a clean interface without editing .htaccess files. Advanced users benefit from regex patterns, conditional rules, and full logging. The plugin is ideal for sites migrating content, changing URL structures, or cleaning up 404 errors from old links.
With 2.0 million active installs, it is the most popular redirect manager in the WordPress ecosystem. The 79% five-star rating suggests strong satisfaction among users managing a few dozen or several thousand redirects. Sites with high traffic or frequent content updates will find the automatic post redirect feature especially useful.
Installation & Setup
Installation is straightforward: download the zip, upload it to your /wp-content/plugins directory, and activate the plugin. After activation, go to Tools > Redirection to configure options. The plugin is beginner-friendly and requires no server modifications. It works immediately if your WordPress supports permalinks.
Support & Community
Support data from the last 2 months shows 12 open threads and 4 resolved, giving a 50% resolution rate. This indicates active but limited developer response. The plugin’s rating breakdown reveals a clear split: 79% of users give it 9% give one star. The one-star ratings often cite performance issues or conflicts with other plugins. Despite this, the 4.4 average rating and 2.0 million installs confirm it is a reliable tool for most users.
Full documentation is available at redirection.me. The plugin also includes a FAQ section directly on its WordPress.org page, addressing common concerns like performance impact and comparison to .htaccess. For a free plugin with 19 years of history, the support level is reasonable for the install base.
Pros & Cons
- With over 2 million active installs and a 4.4/5 rating from 700 reviews, it is the most widely trusted redirect manager for WordPress.
- It supports conditional redirects based on 11 different conditions, including login status, browser type, IP address, and HTTP headers.
- The plugin automatically creates redirects when post or page permalinks change, preventing broken links without manual effort.
- Full logging tracks every redirect with client details, helping identify 404 errors and improve site ranking.
- It works with PHP 7.4 to 8.4 and handles from a few to thousands of redirects, including regular expression patterns.
- Only 33% of support threads are resolved (4 of 12), indicating limited or slow developer assistance for issues.
- Despite 10 years of development, 10% of ratings are 1-star, suggesting recurring bugs or usability frustrations for some users.
- The plugin relies on WordPress permalinks and may conflict with server-level redirects in Apache or Nginx configurations.
- Conditional redirects require technical understanding of HTTP headers, cookies, and filters, which can be complex for non-developers.
Technical Details
- Requires WordPress
- 6.6+
- Requires PHP
- 7.4+
- Tested up to WP
- 7.0
- First Released
- 2007 (19+ years)
- Support (last 2 months)
- 12 threads — 50% resolved
Feature Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, Redirection is completely free and available on WordPress.org. It has been free since its first release in 2007.
Redirection is used by over 2 million WordPress sites. It has a 4.4 out of 5 rating from more than 700 user ratings.
Redirection requires WordPress version 6.5 or higher. It has been tested up to WordPress 6.9.4 for compatibility.
Yes, Redirection is actively maintained and was last updated on March 1, 2026. The current version is 5.7.5, and it has been developed since its first release in 2007.
Redirection requires PHP version 7.4 or higher. It is compatible with PHP versions from 7.4 up to 8.4.
Support is available through WordPress.org forums, with 12 support threads in the last 2 months and 4 of them resolved. Full documentation is also provided at redirection.me.
Yes, Redirection is designed for ease of use and lets you manage redirects without needing Apache or Nginx knowledge. You can even set it to automatically create redirects when you change a post's permalink.
You can create and manage 301 redirects, track 404 errors, and use regular expressions for pattern matching. It also supports conditional redirects based on login status, browser, referrer, or user capabilities.