10 Best Basic URL ShortCodes Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Basic URL ShortCodes has 4,000+ active installs on WordPress.org. These 10 plugins share its category or its tags on WordPress.org, are actively maintained, and each has at least 100 active installs. They are ordered by how closely they match, not by our opinion.
The 10 closest alternatives to Basic URL ShortCodes
- 1
Change Permalink Helper
Closest match4.7 (33) 800+ active installsIt checks the Permalink and redirects to the new URL, if it doesn't exist. It sends the header message "moved permanently 301"
Shares the permalink, url tags on WordPress.org. About a quarter of the installs, no update since April 24, 2020.
- 2
4.3 (31) 10,000+ active installsRedirect any post or page — with a native block or a classic shortcode. Optional delay. Optional "redirecting" message. Zero configuration.
Shares the shortcode, url tags on WordPress.org. About 2.5 times the installs, last updated 13 days ago.
- 3
4.1 (116) 100,000+ active installsA powerful WordPress plugin for full URL control. Set custom permalinks, auto-redirects, and use dynamic tags for ideal site structure and SEO.
Shares the permalink, url tags on WordPress.org. About 25 times the installs, last updated 18 days ago.
- 4
4.8 (71) 200,000+ active installsEdit the permalink of custom post type.
Shares the permalink, url tags on WordPress.org. About 50 times the installs, last updated May 20, 2026.
- 5
Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files
4.7 (295) 10,000+ active installsA simple way to prevent search engines and the public from indexing and accessing your files without complex user authentication.
Shares the uploads tag on WordPress.org. About 2.5 times the installs, last updated 11 days ago.
- 6
4.5 (22) 8,000+ active installsBulk register files on the server to the Media Library.
Shares the uploads tag on WordPress.org. About 2 times the installs, last updated 22 days ago.
- 7
5.0 (23) 10,000+ active installsProvides options to disable the extra images generated by WordPress.
Shares the uploads tag on WordPress.org. About 2.5 times the installs, last updated July 18, 2026.
- 8
4.4 (23) 20,000+ active installsThis is a fix of Top Level Categories plugin for Wordpress 3.1. and above.
Shares the permalink tag on WordPress.org. About 5 times the installs, no update since September 3, 2025.
- 9
4.9 (31) 5,000+ active installsAdds a URL path column to all admin post type edit screens. Works with posts, pages, and any custom post type including WooCommerce products.
Shares the permalink tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, last updated 18 days ago.
- 10
5.0 (33) 10,000+ active installsRemove custom post type base slug from url
Shares the permalink tag on WordPress.org. About 2.5 times the installs, last updated December 1, 2025.
Switching from Basic URL ShortCodes: common questions
What is the best alternative to Basic URL ShortCodes?
Change Permalink Helper is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 800+ active installs with a 4.7 out of 5 rating.
Which Basic URL ShortCodes alternative has the most users?
Custom Post Type Permalinks, with 200,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Basic URL ShortCodes alternative is rated highest?
Custom Post Type Permalinks, rated 4.8 out of 5 by 71 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Basic URL ShortCodes alternatives free?
Every plugin listed here is free to install from WordPress.org. Where WordPress.org marks a plugin as commercial, the developer also sells a paid version or add-ons, and that is shown on each plugin.
How are alternatives chosen?
Automatically, from WordPress.org data: plugins that share a category top 10 with Basic URL ShortCodes score highest, then plugins that appear in the same WordPress.org rankings, then plugins with the same tags, weighted so rare tags count more than common ones. Plugins by the same author and plugins rated under 4.0 are left out.
How we choose these alternatives
Nothing on this page is picked by hand. Every day we walk the whole WordPress.org directory, then score every plugin against Basic URL ShortCodes on three signals: sharing a category top 10 counts most, then appearing in the same WordPress.org rankings, then carrying the same tags, with rare tags counting for more than common ones like "wordpress". Plugins by the same author are excluded, so an author's own add-ons cannot fill the list, and so is anything rated below 4.0 or with fewer than 100 active installs. The ten highest scores are what you see, in that order. Full methodology.
The bottom line
Change Permalink Helper is the closest match to Basic URL ShortCodes by the data we track, and Custom Post Type Permalinks has the widest reach with 200,000+ active installs. Prevent Direct Access shipped the most recent release, on August 27, 2026. The list is rebuilt every day from WordPress.org, so a plugin that stops being maintained drops out on its own.
Weekly · free
What moved this week
One email a week, built from the same daily snapshots these rankings come from: the plugins that climbed, what launched, and one ranking worth a look.