How to Remove "/category/" from URLs in Pro Theme Without Plugins?

Support
#1

Hi,

I’m building a WordPress site using the Pro theme and Cornerstone. I’ve encountered an issue with category archive URLs. Currently, the URLs include “/category/” (e.g., https://www.thailandinfo.se/category/ekonomi/ ), but I would like the URLs to be cleaner, such as https://www.thailandinfo.se/ekonomi/ .

Here are the steps I’ve already tried:

  1. In Settings > Permalinks , I left the “Category Base” field empty. This makes https://www.thailandinfo.se/category/ekonomi/ work but doesn’t remove “category” from the URL.
  2. I tried disabling all plugins to rule out conflicts, but the issue persists.
  3. I noticed that entering a value in the “Category Base” field (e.g., “test”) changes the URL structure to https://www.thailandinfo.se/test/ekonomi/ , so the base seems mandatory.
  4. I understand there are plugins like “Remove Category URL” that solve this issue, but I would prefer to avoid relying on plugins for this.

Since Pro and Cornerstone are very powerful tools, is there a way to address this problem directly in the theme settings or through customizations within Pro? My goal is to completely remove “/category/” from the URL structure without using third-party plugins or complex server-level modifications.

Thank you for your help!

#2

Hello @johanlundgren,

Thanks for writing to us.

Regretfully there is no option in the theme to change the URL structure of WordPress since the WordPress permalink settings control the WordPress URL structure. It seems that you have added a custom code or plugin to add the category name to the URL. I would suggest you troubleshoot a few of the common issues before we investigate your settings. If it doesn’t work please share your details in a secure note. Please provide the following details

  • WordPress Login URL
  • Admin-level username and password

You can find the Secure Note button at the bottom of your posts

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Thanks

1 Like
#3

Hi @prakash_s

Thank you for your response. I’d like to clarify that I don’t believe this issue is caused by any changes I’ve made. Based on WordPress documentation (Customize Permalinks - WordPress Documentation), it appears that including “category” in URLs is the default behavior for WordPress when no value is provided in Settings > Permalinks > Category Base .

The documentation explains the following:
The default values for *Category base* and *Tag base* are category and tag. You can change them, but you can’t remove them from the URLs altogether.

As there doesn’t seem to be a built-in solution in Pro or Cornerstone to handle this, I believe my options are as follows:

  1. Accept the unwanted “category” in the URL structure.
  2. Provide a different name in Permalinks > Category Base (e.g., “topics”).
  3. Explore a third-party plugin to completely remove “category” from URLs.

I appreciate your confirmation that there are no settings within Pro/Cornerstone to resolve this, as this helps me make an informed decision moving forward.

Thank you for your time and support!

Best regards,
Johan

#4

Hi Johan,

You can check the following thread with a similar topic, which may help you with this.

Thanks

1 Like
#5

Hi @tristup

Thank you for the helpful recommendation! I decided to try the “No Category Base (WPML)” plugin, and I’m happy to report that it works perfectly. The issue with /category/ in my URLs is now resolved, and my links are much cleaner, for example:
https://www.thailandinfo.se/ekonomi/ .

That said, I do feel a bit unsure whether relying on a plugin for such a fundamental feature is the ideal long-term solution. I can’t help but wonder if it might introduce unforeseen issues in the future. For now, I’ll continue testing it to see how it performs over time.

Once again, thank you for the tip—it’s much appreciated!

Best regards,
Johan

#6

You are most welcome, Johan.

1 Like