WP Lessn
Use your self-hosted Lessn install to create short URLs for published posts.
Consider an alternative
WP Lessn shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 17 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 16 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 2.8 (latest is 7.1)
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where WP Lessn stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| lessn | #1 |
| short url | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About WP Lessn
From the official readme · v1.0Description
The WP Lessn Plugin for WordPress uses Shaun Inman’s Lessn to create a short URL for each new post you publish. The Lessn’d link is attached to the post meta data. You can insert the Lessn’d link into your blog post using short tags or into your theme template with some some PHP.
Lessn, according to Shaun Inman, is “an extremely simple, personal url shortener written in PHP with MySQL and mod_rewrite.” If you are unfamiliar with Lessn, then this plugin will have little value to you until you read about it, download it, and install it on your own server. Lessn is free.
WP Lessn was written by Jay Robinson. Please thank Shaun Inman for being awesome, not me. But email me for support, not him.
Installation
This section describes how to install the plugin and get it working.
- Open ‘wp-lessn.zip’ file to reveal ‘wp-lessn’ directory.
- Upload ‘wp-lessn’ directory to ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory.
- Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
- Go to the ‘WP Lessn’ submenu underneath the ‘Plugins’ menu; store your Lessn domain, and your Lessn API key (found on your Lessn domain).
- You may now publish any post to generate the Lessn’d URL. It will show up on the post page as a custom field, with the name ‘wp_lessnd_url’.
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
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FAQ
WP Lessn: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 1, 2026
Is WP Lessn free?
Yes. WP Lessn is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is WP Lessn safe to use in 2026?
WP Lessn shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 17 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
How many websites use WP Lessn?
WP Lessn is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 1,968 times since it launched in December 2009. It was downloaded 83 times in the last 30 days.
Does WP Lessn work with WordPress 7.1?
WP Lessn is officially tested up to WordPress 2.8, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was WP Lessn last updated?
The latest version, 1.0, was released on December 12, 2009 (17 years ago).
Who makes WP Lessn?
WP Lessn is developed and maintained by jayrobinson.
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