Title: Remove Category URL – Remove 'category' base from category permalinks Author: Themeisle Published: July 2, 2014 Last modified: January 12, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/remove-category-url/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=1032792) ![](https://ps.w.org/remove-category-url/assets/icon.svg?rev=3391110) # Remove Category URL – Remove 'category' base from category permalinks By [Themeisle](https://profiles.wordpress.org/themeisle/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/remove-category-url.1.2.1.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/remove-category-url/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/remove-category-url/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/remove-category-url/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/remove-category-url/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/remove-category-url/) ## Description Remove Category URL strips the `/category/` base from your category URLs, turning something like `/category/my-category/` into simply `/my-category/`. Just activate, and you’re done. No configuration needed. ### Features * Creates cleaner URLs like `mydomain.com/my-category/` and `mydomain.com/my-category/ my-post/` * Works out of the box with no settings to configure * Supports multiple sub-categories * Automatically 301 redirects old category URLs to the new structure (SEO-friendly) * Sitemaps are automatically updated with the new URLs after activation * Compatible with WordPress Multisite, WPML, and popular sitemap plugins ### Why remove /category/ from URLs? The `/category/` base in WordPress URLs is there by default, but it doesn’t help your visitors or search engines understand your content any better. When you remove`/ category/` from URLs, you get cleaner paths like `mydomain.com/news/` instead of` mydomain.com/category/news/`. They’re shorter, easier to remember and share, and more consistent with how your pages are already structured. Shorter URLs also tend to look better in search results and make your site feel more polished overall. Removing the category base is a small change that makes your whole URL structure cleaner. ### Support We’re here to help. Feel free to open a new thread on the [Support Forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/remove-category-url/). ### Useful Resources * If you like this plugin, you’re sure to love [our other plugins](https://themeisle.com/wordpress-plugins/) as well. * Our blog is a great place to [learn more about WordPress](https://themeisle.com/blog/). * Get the most out of your website with our helpful [WordPress YouTube Tutorials](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmRasCVwuvpSep2MOsIoE0ncO9JE3FcKP). ## Installation 1. In your WordPress admin, go to **Plugins > Add New** 2. In the Search field, type **“Remove Category URL”** 3. Under “Remove Category URL” by Themeisle, click the **Install Now** link 4. Once the process is complete, click the **Activate Plugin** link You’re done! No configuration is needed. ## FAQ ### Will this break my existing links? No. The plugin automatically redirects your old category URLs to the new shorter ones using 301 redirects. So if someone visits `mydomain.com/category/my-category/`, they’ll be seamlessly redirected to `mydomain.com/my-category/`. ### What happens if a page or other content has the same slug as a category? The category will take priority. So if you have both a category and a page with the slug travel, visiting `mydomain.com/travel/` will load the category archive, not the page. To avoid conflicts, make sure your categories don’t share slugs with pages, posts, or other content on your site. ### Does this remove the base from other taxonomies like WooCommerce product categories? No, this plugin only affects the built-in WordPress category taxonomy. For WooCommerce, you’d need a different solution. ### What happens if I deactivate the plugin? If you deactivate the plugin, your category URLs will revert to the default WordPress structure with `/category/` in the path. If you only deactivate the plugin without uninstalling it, you will need to flush permalinks manually. You can do this by going to **Settings > Permalinks** and clicking** Save Changes**. If you uninstall the plugin, permalinks are flushed automatically. Note that after deactivation, links pointing to the shortened URLs will no longer work unless you set up your own redirects. ### I uninstalled the plugin, but /category/ didn’t come back. Why? You’ll need to manually refresh your permalinks. Go to **Settings Permalinks** and click **Save Changes**. This will restore the default `/category/` base. ## Reviews ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/98e29ea56a1cfacdb46c1d544fce0bed18d05f10bab79edd8a1d6c8a4b678d75? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Уникайте!](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/%d1%83%d0%bd%d0%b8%d0%ba%d0%b0%d0%b9%d1%82%d0%b5/)󠁿 [Laset](https://profiles.wordpress.org/laset/) November 7, 2025 1 reply додає непотрібні елементи в адмінку, спамить свій блог ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/68ba24b7011894ac601a4e69fba2183bb0fc88e92b8a9b7d76797630def43dd1? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Warning, blocks Google’s indexing robot!](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-blocks-googles-indexing-robot/)󠁿 [spamlover](https://profiles.wordpress.org/spamlover/) August 6, 2023 I used this plug-in recently and when I analysed my sites via Google Search Console, none of my pages were referenced. Each time, the Google crawler told me that the URL was invalid or that the server had a problem (with the page inspector).I removed the plug-in and everything was back to normal (I now use Rank Math to remove the category).Maybe this plug-in has had its day in the past, but be careful now. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/50393cb3f44f4d74a26c9f401c47623be68a0a45b68cb9e66f1e6886dc352fd6? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Perfecto para mejorar las urls de nuestra web](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/perfecto-para-mejorar-las-urls-de-nuestra-web/)󠁿 [carlosmartinez001](https://profiles.wordpress.org/carlosmartinez001/) March 12, 2023 Este plugin hace algo que en mi opinión debería hacer nativamente Wordpress. Elimina ese molesto “category” de nuestras urls para darle un aspecto más naturar a todas las urls de categorías de la web. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c0b2465d6819d479eb9bbc16c73076f59fd5854f84c4cb58b9efe3a0447be217? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Not working with latest WP version](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/not-working-with-latest-wp-version-4/)󠁿 [PUShAUNE](https://profiles.wordpress.org/pushaune/) September 21, 2022 1 reply No setting page to use the plugin. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e4184f000741238e6f75b525b285a6ab7aa713df04e48e51603f2e90bbed5573? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Still works perfectly](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/still-works-perfectly-7/)󠁿 [hfng](https://profiles.wordpress.org/hfng/) June 28, 2022 Despite not having any updates since 2 years+, this plugin works like a charm! ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1fb0f3019b66b7e52c1c563898d6976ce890a10886a92459aabad149d109990e? s=60&d=retro&r=g) ### 󠀁[Still Works Great](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/still-works-great-39/)󠁿 [studioactiv8](https://profiles.wordpress.org/studioactiv8/) July 31, 2021 If you are like me .. there are some websites that need this function..It works and is a fundamental fix.. so don’t worry if it isn’t an ‘updated plugin’. The Category Base hasn’t changed in Wordpress.. and this works better than adding “.” in the permalink area. [ Read all 58 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/remove-category-url/reviews/) ## Contributors & Developers “Remove Category URL – Remove 'category' base from category permalinks” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ Themeisle ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/themeisle/) [Translate “Remove Category URL – Remove 'category' base from category permalinks” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/remove-category-url) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/remove-category-url/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/remove-category-url/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/remove-category-url/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/remove-category-url/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog Version 1.2.1 (2026-01-12) * Improved experience by flushing permalinks on uninstall * Enhanced security #### Version 1.2.0 (2025-11-06) Remove Category URL plugin has been acquired by Themeisle 🎉 We’re happy to announce that Themeisle is now the new owner of Remove Category URL. This acquisition will help ensure the plugin’s continued development, better support, and exciting new updates in the future. Your existing setup will continue to work as usual — no action is required on your part. #### 1.1.6 * Fixed: Minor bugs #### 1.1.4 * Update Fix WPML #### 1.1.3 * Update Fix #### 1.1.2 * Update #### 1.1.1 * Compatible with translate.wordpress.org #### 1.1 * Fix Erros #### 1.0.2 * Update Compatible with WPML. #### 0.1.1 * Add uninstall. #### 0.1.0 * Initial release. ## Meta * Version **1.2.1** * Last updated **3 months ago** * Active installations **60,000+** * WordPress version ** 3.1 or higher ** * Tested up to **6.9.4** * Tags * [custom permalinks](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/custom-permalinks/)[permalinks](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/permalinks/) [remove category base](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/remove-category-base/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/remove-category-url/advanced/) ## Ratings 4.2 out of 5 stars. * [ 45 5-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/remove-category-url/reviews/?filter=5) * [ 2 4-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/remove-category-url/reviews/?filter=4) * [ 0 3-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/remove-category-url/reviews/?filter=3) * [ 1 2-star review ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/remove-category-url/reviews/?filter=2) * [ 10 1-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/remove-category-url/reviews/?filter=1) [Add my review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/remove-category-url/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/remove-category-url/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ Themeisle ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/themeisle/) ## Support Issues resolved in last two months: 1 out of 1 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/remove-category-url/)