Redirection Plugin Review: The Best Free 301 Redirect Manager (2026)

What Is Redirection?

Redirection is a free WordPress plugin by John Godley that manages 301 redirects, tracks 404 errors, and helps you clean up broken links on your site. With 2+ million active installs and a 4.4/5 star rating (689 reviews), it is the most widely used redirect management plugin in the WordPress ecosystem. Last updated March 2026, version 5.7.5.

Key Features

• 301 redirect manager — Create, edit, and delete redirects from a clean dashboard. Supports 301 (permanent), 302 (temporary), and 307 redirects.
• 404 error monitoring — Logs every 404 error with the URL, referrer, user agent, and timestamp. Helps you find and fix broken links before they hurt your SEO.
• Regex support — Use regular expressions for pattern-based redirects. Redirect entire URL structures with a single rule.
• Redirect groups — Organize redirects into groups for easier management on sites with hundreds of rules.
• Import/export — Bulk import redirects from CSV, .htaccess, or JSON. Export for backup or migration.
• Conditional redirects — Redirect based on login status, referrer, user agent, or cookie.
• Apache and Nginx support — Can write redirects directly to your .htaccess file (Apache) or generate Nginx rules.

Free vs Premium

Redirection is 100% free. There is no premium version, no paid extensions, and no upsells. Every feature — including regex, 404 monitoring, conditional redirects, and bulk import — is included in the free plugin.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Completely free with zero upsells
• 404 monitoring catches broken links before Google does
• Regex support handles complex redirect patterns
• Actively maintained (March 2026, tested WP 6.9.4)
• Can write directly to .htaccess for faster server-level redirects

Cons:

• UI feels dated compared to modern WordPress plugins
• 404 logs can grow large on high-traffic sites
• Some conflicts with certain caching plugins
• No automatic redirect suggestions
• Learning curve for regex rules

Who Should Use It?

Anyone who changes URLs, deletes pages, or restructures their site. Essential during site migrations to map old URLs to new ones and preserve search rankings.

Best Alternatives

• Rank Math — Built-in redirect manager with 404 monitoring. See our comparison.
• Yoast SEO Premium ($99/yr) — Adds redirect manager with auto-suggestions when pages are deleted.
• Simple 301 Redirects — Lighter if you just need basic redirects without 404 tracking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need this if I use Rank Math?

Probably not. Rank Math includes a built-in redirect manager. Redirection is better for regex, conditional redirects, or managing hundreds of rules.

Will too many redirects slow my site?

For most sites under 500 redirects, impact is negligible. For thousands, write them to .htaccess instead of the database for better performance.

What happens if I deactivate the plugin?

Database redirects stop working. .htaccess redirects remain active. Always export before deactivating.

How do I fix a redirect loop?

Check your rules for circular references — URL A redirecting to B, which redirects back to A. The 404 log helps identify the involved URLs.

Can I import from .htaccess?

Yes. The plugin supports .htaccess, CSV, and JSON import formats for bulk migration.

Sources: WordPress.org, Redirection.me