Link Away
Link Away makes it easy to replace a post’s permalink with any URL you choose on a post by post basis.
Consider an alternative
Link Away shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 12 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 12 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 3.9 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Link Away stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| custom link | >100 |
| permalink | >100 |
| post title | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Link Away
From the official readme · v1.0Description
Link Away makes it easy to replace a post’s permalink with any URL you choose on a post by post basis.
Link Away adds a field to the post admin page for entering the new destination address.
If you are sharing an article found on another website, all you have to do is add it’s URL. When the user clicks any link that would normally take them to the single post page for that post, they will bypass the post on your site and go directly to the article location.
The value of this plugin compared to others that might be similar, is that it is clean and lightweight. It’s so simple, in fact, that the actual functionalitly is only about a half dozen lines of code.
Because it filters the WP function that retrieves the permalink and replaces it with the given URL as it is returned, with a very high priority, it should have no problem working across all themes and regardless of other plugins.
Installation
Using The WordPress Dashboard
- Navigate to the ‘Add New’ in the plugins dashboard
- Search for ‘Link Away’
- Click ‘Install Now’
- Activate the plugin on the Plugin dashboard
Uploading in WordPress Dashboard
- Navigate to the ‘Add New’ in the plugins dashboard
- Navigate to the ‘Upload’ area
- Select
link-away.zipfrom your computer - Click ‘Install Now’
- Activate the plugin in the Plugin dashboard
Using FTP
- Download
link-away.zip - Extract the
link-awaydirectory to your computer - Upload the
link-awaydirectory to the/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin in the Plugin dashboard
There is no settings page, just look for the Link Away settings box when editing posts. Works on regular and public custom post types.
It’s a pretty simple plugin. If you don’t want to change a post, just ignore the Link Away settings, but when you do want a post to link away, add the complete URL where you want users to go.
Optionally, you can select to have the new location open in a new window.
Click the test button and the URL will open in a small popup in case you want to verify the URL before you update the post.
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Link Away alternatives
All custom link plugins →
FAQ
Link Away: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 12, 2026
Is Link Away free?
Yes. Link Away is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Link Away safe to use in 2026?
Link Away shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 12 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Link Away?
Link Away is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 2,215 times since it launched in December 2013. It was downloaded 67 times in the last 30 days.
Does Link Away work with WordPress 7.1?
Link Away is officially tested up to WordPress 3.9.40, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Link Away last updated?
The latest version, 1.0, was released on April 16, 2014 (12 years ago).
Who makes Link Away?
Link Away is developed and maintained by Michael Davis.
What are the best alternatives to Link Away?
The most popular alternatives to Link Away are Shortcode in Menus (50K+ installs), Widgets in Menu for WordPre… (8K+ installs) and Add Featured Image Custom L… (1K+ installs).
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