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Better Random Redirect

By Robert Peake

Site Administration & Utilities / URL Redirects & 301 Management

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Better Random Redirect Review - In-Depth Analysis

Efficient plugin for random redirection to posts. Supports category settings and custom URLs.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.78/10

User Rating

4.6/5 (based on 10+ reviews)

Active Installations

600+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

5 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This plugin is based on the original Random Redirect and enables efficient, easy random redirection to a post. It supports setting a category for all random redirects, allowing users to utilize shortcodes to generate URLs that can override the default category. Additionally, users can set their own redirector URL.

Designed to scale to handle high-traffic websites with thousands of posts, this plugin employs a more efficient strategy than most other redirection plugins.

Special thanks to Tim Green for providing additional quality assurance testing on the popular rattle.com website.

Comparing to Alternatives

Better Random Redirect offers a unique approach to random page redirection, but there are several other plugins that provide redirect management with different features and focuses.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Simple and efficient functionality focused on random page redirection
Highly rated by most users for reliability and ease of use
Compact plugin with minimal configuration needed
Works well for websites with a large number of pages
Free to use with no paid version required

Weaknesses

Has a known medium severity security vulnerability without a fix
Limited support and updates, with some users reporting lack of author response
Does not support multiple category selections for randomization
One reported issue with randomization not working correctly

User Sentiment Analysis

With a strong majority of 5-star reviews and only one low rating, users generally appreciate the plugin's simplicity and effectiveness, though some have encountered issues.

Positive highlights

'Compact. Efficient. Works great' – leafssuck
'Excellent plugin, does exactly what it says and does it well' – leafssuck
'An excellent way to facilitate random navigation on large sites' – RussWilley
'Top Tier Plugin' – ximbor
'Hi working good! Thank you.' – diEfoRyoU

Common complaints

Does not work properly for randomizing pages in some cases
Redirects to a specific page instead of multiple pages as expected
Lack of support from the author for over a year

Weaknesses

Security vulnerability with stored cross-site scripting risk
Limited feature set compared to some alternatives
No multi-category randomization option
Infrequent updates and support

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users seeking a straightforward, lightweight plugin to add random page redirection functionality to their WordPress site without needing advanced features.

Not ideal for

Sites requiring robust support, frequent updates, multi-category randomization, or those concerned about the unresolved security vulnerability should consider other options.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version includes all core features for random page redirection, providing good value for users needing basic functionality.

Final Verdict

Better Random Redirect is a well-liked plugin for its simplicity and effectiveness in providing random page redirection, especially suited for sites with many pages. Its high user ratings reflect satisfaction with its core functionality and ease of use.

However, the presence of a medium severity security vulnerability without a fix and limited support are significant concerns. Users should weigh these risks against their needs and consider alternatives if security and support are priorities.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Better Random Redirect plugin.

random redirect

post redirection

category settings

Screenshots

FAQ

Yep, really. So many of the ones currently out there are not suitable for large websites with lots of traffic.

This is because many random redirect plugins rely on the 'orderby' => 'rand' constraint in WordPress, or directly use 'ORDER BY RAND()' in their MySQL queries. This results in notoriously poor performance and can really cause problems with your MySQL server if this operation is heavily repeated on a website with lots of eligible posts.

This plugin uses a more efficient approach, including transient caching of all eligible posts by category and their post counts to minimise the time it takes to pick a true random post.