RankLite – Fast, Clean SEO

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Fast, clean SEO: titles & meta, Open Graph/Twitter Cards, JSON-LD schema, and XML sitemaps with Google/Bing pings. No bloat, no tracking.

Author:ranklite (profile at wordpress.org)
WordPress version required:5.8
WordPress version tested:6.9.4
Plugin version:1.0.4
Added to WordPress repository:07-02-2026
Last updated:03-03-2026
Rating, %:0
Rated by:0
Plugin URI:https://ranklite.org
Total downloads:156
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RankLite focuses on the essentials of on-page SEO. It’s intentionally small, fast, and easy to configure. You get all the core tools—without the kitchen sink:

  • Titles & Meta Descriptions per post/page with live counters
  • Global defaults with smart fallbacks
  • Open Graph & Twitter Cards (title, description, image)
  • Canonical and robots meta (index/noindex, follow/nofollow)
  • XML Sitemaps (/sitemap.xml) with pretty permalink support and pings to Google & Bing
  • JSON-LD Schema for Website, Article, Breadcrumbs + FAQ/How-to blocks (basic)
  • Breadcrumbs output helper
  • Manual 301 Redirects
  • Analytics helpers (Google Analytics/GTAG & Google Tag Manager passthrough)
  • Optional data wipe on uninstall
  • Multisite-aware and performance-minded

No telemetry. No ad pixels. No phone-home calls—everything stays on your site.

Why RankLite?

  • Performance first. Lightweight code, minimal queries, no admin nag spam.
  • No lock-in. Uses standard WordPress fields/meta so you can switch any time.
  • Clean UI. Sensible defaults and clear controls that won’t overwhelm you.

What’s included in the Free version?

  • Titles/meta with counters and fallbacks
  • Canonical, robots
  • Open Graph & Twitter Cards
  • Website/Article/Breadcrumbs + FAQ/How-to schema (basic, JSON-LD)
  • XML sitemaps with Google/Bing pings
  • Breadcrumbs helper
  • Manual redirects (301)
  • Analytics & GTM helpers
  • Tools page with wipe on uninstall option

Pro add-on

A separate Pro add-on (not required) can extend RankLite with AI-assisted titles/descriptions/alt-text/articles, advanced schema & sitemaps, a 404 monitor, and auto-redirects. The free plugin is fully functional on its own and does not require Pro.

Features

  • Meta box on posts/pages for custom SEO Title & Description
  • Smart fallback to site title/tagline or post excerpt
  • Open Graph/Twitter image fallback
  • Robots (index/noindex, follow/nofollow) per post and global
  • Sitemaps: index + post types; pretty /sitemap.xml with:
    • Fallback query route for non-pretty permalinks
    • Automatic pings to Google and Bing when content changes (with safe throttling)
  • Schema: Website, Article, Breadcrumbs + FAQ/How-to via blocks (basic) with safe defaults
  • Breadcrumbs: simple template function/filter to output a trail
  • Redirects: add simple 301 manual redirects from an admin screen
  • Analytics: GA4/gtag and GTM helpers (paste ID and go)
  • Developer-friendly (filters/actions documented below)
  • Privacy-friendly: no data leaves your site

Privacy

This plugin does not:

  • Collect personal data
  • Send usage data to third parties
  • Set cookies on the front end by itself

If you enable Analytics or GTM helpers, you are integrating external services—ensure you have the proper disclosures/consent (e.g., via your cookie banner).

Performance

  • Minimal queries and safe caching behavior
  • No assets loaded on the front end unless necessary
  • Short timeouts and safe throttling for sitemap pings to Google/Bing

External services

This plugin can optionally connect to the following external services:

  1. Google Search and Bing (sitemap ping)

– What it does: When sitemap pinging is enabled, RankLite can notify search engines that your sitemap has been updated.
– What is sent: The public URL of your sitemap is sent as a query parameter to:
– https://www.google.com/ping?sitemap=
– https://www.bing.com/ping?sitemap=
– When: Only when sitemap pinging is enabled in the plugin settings and a sitemap is generated/updated.
– Terms / Privacy:
– Google: https://policies.google.com/privacy / https://policies.google.com/terms
– Microsoft (Bing): https://privacy.microsoft.com / https://www.microsoft.com/servicesagreement

  1. Google Analytics / Google Tag Manager (optional)

– What it does: If you choose to enable Analytics or Tag Manager in RankLite, the plugin outputs the official tracking/snippet code provided by Google.
– What is sent: Standard analytics/usage data as defined by Google, associated with your own property IDs (e.g. GA4, GTM). No additional data is sent by RankLite beyond what Google’s scripts normally collect.
– When: Only when you explicitly enable these features and enter your own tracking IDs.
– Terms / Privacy:
– Google Analytics / Tag Manager: https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/terms/us/
– Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Developers

Filter the final title string

`php

/**
* Filter the final value RankLite outputs.
*
* @param string $title Final title string.
* @param array $parts Parsed parts (h1, site_name, brand, etc).
* @param WP_Post|null $post Current post object (or null).
* @param string $type Detected type: ‘news’ | ‘product’ | ‘default’.
*/
add_filter( ‘ranklite_meta_title_final’, function( $title, $parts, $post, $type ) {
return $title;
}, 10, 4 );
`

Add extra sitemap index entries (e.g. news/video)

`php

add_filter( ‘ranklite/sitemaps/index_items’, function( $extra, $opts ) {
$extra[] = array(
‘loc’ => home_url( ‘/news-sitemap.xml’ ),
‘lastmod’ => gmdate( ‘c’ ),
);
return $extra;
}, 10, 2 );
`

Tweak the breadcrumb trail before output

`php

add_filter( ‘ranklite_breadcrumb_trail’, function( $trail ) {
// $trail is an array of arrays like [ ‘name’ => ‘Blog’, ‘url’ => ‘https://example.com/blog/’ ].
return $trail;
} );
`

Programmatic redirect registration

`php

do_action( ‘ranklite/register_redirect’, ‘/old-path’, ‘/new-path’, 301 );
`

See inline docs for more hooks and parameters.

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