WP-Orphanage Extended
Plugin to promote users with no roles set (the orphans) to the role from other blog where they registered or to default if any found.
Use with caution
WP-Orphanage Extended works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 6 months ago, and scores 58/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (100+ active installs)
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.9 (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-Orphanage Extended stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| CUSTOM_USER_META_TABLE | #1 |
| CUSTOM_USER_TABLE | #1 |
| shared user table | #19 |
| users | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 5 reviews
About WP-Orphanage Extended
From the official readme · v1.4Description
Users who have not been assigned any Roles or Capabilities are called ‘orphans’.
When using the shared users table trick to link up multiple WordPress installations, users who register on one of your blogs, are not given any privileges on the other blogs in the network.
WP-Orphanage is a plugin that automatically adopts your orphan users by promoting them to the role of your choosing.
By default it is the same as the default role set in the WP Options.
It does it in two ways:
- Users who try to login to a different blog in the network than the one they signed up on, will be promoted at the time of login. The user won’t even know that it happened.
- When the admin logs into the blog and views the users page, all orphan users – for that blog – are promoted automatically.
By taking a just in time approach, this plugin will not add any noticeable overhead to your WordPress blogs, while providing a seamless experience for the users and administrators.
This plugin is a extended version of WP-Orphanage plugin written by Eric Marden
Installation
- Download the wp-orphanage-extended.zip file, unzip and upload the whole directory to the
/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
- Edit the plugin options to set the role you would like users to be promoted to, and other WP prefixes where to search for roles.
- As an admin you can visit the Users page to automatically upgrade all orphan users of that blog to that role. Users who login before you do that will also get the same treatment (but only for their account).
Frequently asked questions
Why Would I Want This?
If you are using the CUSTOM_USER_TABLE and CUSTOM_USER_META_TABLE in your wp-config.php, you’re probably going to want this.
Changelog
1.4
- Changed textdomain to ‘wp-orphanage-extended’, stopped using constant WPOEX_TD
- Removed translation files, as they are not needed anymore (handled by WordPress.org)
- Fixed minor issues reported by PHPCS
- Code refactoring
1.3
- Fixed security issue CSRF on settings page (reported by Wordfence)
- Fixed loading textdomain too early
1.2
- Escaped data on settings page
1.1
- Changed textdomain to ‘wp-orphanage-extended’, represented by constant WPOEX_TD
- Minor code styling corrections
1.0
- Initial release.
This plugin is a extended version of WP-Orphanage plugin written by Eric Marden (xentek.net)
Screenshots
For developers
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FAQ
WP-Orphanage Extended: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 27, 2026
Is WP-Orphanage Extended free?
Yes. WP-Orphanage Extended is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is WP-Orphanage Extended safe to use in 2026?
WP-Orphanage Extended works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 6 months ago, and scores 58/100 on our health check.
How many websites use WP-Orphanage Extended?
WP-Orphanage Extended is active on 100+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 8,386 times since it launched in January 2012. It was downloaded 90 times in the last 30 days.
Does WP-Orphanage Extended work with WordPress 7.1?
WP-Orphanage Extended is officially tested up to WordPress 6.9.9, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does WP-Orphanage Extended need?
WP-Orphanage Extended requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was WP-Orphanage Extended last updated?
The latest version, 1.4, was released on April 5, 2026 (6 months ago).
Who makes WP-Orphanage Extended?
WP-Orphanage Extended is developed and maintained by meloniq.
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