diff --git a/caddyconfig/httpcaddyfile/directives.go b/caddyconfig/httpcaddyfile/directives.go
index 13026fa4..bde25031 100644
--- a/caddyconfig/httpcaddyfile/directives.go
+++ b/caddyconfig/httpcaddyfile/directives.go
@@ -27,18 +27,25 @@ import (
 	"github.com/caddyserver/caddy/v2/modules/caddyhttp"
 )
 
-// directiveOrder specifies the order
-// to apply directives in HTTP routes.
+// defaultDirectiveOrder specifies the default order
+// to apply directives in HTTP routes. This must only
+// consist of directives that are included in Caddy's
+// standard distribution.
 //
-// The root directive goes first in case rewrites or
-// redirects depend on existence of files, i.e. the
-// file matcher, which must know the root first.
+// e.g. The 'root' directive goes near the start in
+// case rewrites or redirects depend on existence of
+// files, i.e. the file matcher, which must know the
+// root first.
 //
-// The header directive goes second so that headers
-// can be manipulated before doing redirects.
-var directiveOrder = []string{
+// e.g. The 'header' directive goes before 'redir' so
+// that headers can be manipulated before doing redirects.
+//
+// e.g. The 'respond' directive is near the end because it
+// writes a response and terminates the middleware chain.
+var defaultDirectiveOrder = []string{
 	"tracing",
 
+	// set variables that may be used by other directives
 	"map",
 	"vars",
 	"fs",
@@ -85,6 +92,11 @@ var directiveOrder = []string{
 	"acme_server",
 }
 
+// directiveOrder specifies the order to apply directives
+// in HTTP routes, after being modified by either the
+// plugins or by the user via the "order" global option.
+var directiveOrder = defaultDirectiveOrder
+
 // directiveIsOrdered returns true if dir is
 // a known, ordered (sorted) directive.
 func directiveIsOrdered(dir string) bool {
@@ -131,6 +143,58 @@ func RegisterHandlerDirective(dir string, setupFunc UnmarshalHandlerFunc) {
 	})
 }
 
+// RegisterDirectiveOrder registers the default order for a
+// directive from a plugin.
+//
+// This is useful when a plugin has a well-understood place
+// it should run in the middleware pipeline, and it allows
+// users to avoid having to define the order themselves.
+//
+// The directive dir may be placed in the position relative
+// to ('before' or 'after') a directive included in Caddy's
+// standard distribution. It cannot be relative to another
+// plugin's directive.
+//
+// EXPERIMENTAL: This API may change or be removed.
+func RegisterDirectiveOrder(dir string, position Positional, standardDir string) {
+	// check if directive was already ordered
+	if directiveIsOrdered(dir) {
+		panic("directive '" + dir + "' already ordered")
+	}
+
+	if position != Before && position != After {
+		panic("the 2nd argument must be either 'before' or 'after', got '" + position + "'")
+	}
+
+	// check if directive exists in standard distribution, since
+	// we can't allow plugins to depend on one another; we can't
+	// guarantee the order that plugins are loaded in.
+	foundStandardDir := false
+	for _, d := range defaultDirectiveOrder {
+		if d == standardDir {
+			foundStandardDir = true
+		}
+	}
+	if !foundStandardDir {
+		panic("the 3rd argument '" + standardDir + "' must be a directive that exists in the standard distribution of Caddy")
+	}
+
+	// insert directive into proper position
+	newOrder := directiveOrder
+	for i, d := range newOrder {
+		if d != standardDir {
+			continue
+		}
+		if position == Before {
+			newOrder = append(newOrder[:i], append([]string{dir}, newOrder[i:]...)...)
+		} else if position == After {
+			newOrder = append(newOrder[:i+1], append([]string{dir}, newOrder[i+1:]...)...)
+		}
+		break
+	}
+	directiveOrder = newOrder
+}
+
 // RegisterGlobalOption registers a unique global option opt with
 // an associated unmarshaling (setup) function. When the global
 // option opt is encountered in a Caddyfile, setupFunc will be
@@ -555,6 +619,16 @@ func (sb serverBlock) isAllHTTP() bool {
 	return true
 }
 
+// Positional are the supported modes for ordering directives.
+type Positional string
+
+const (
+	Before Positional = "before"
+	After  Positional = "after"
+	First  Positional = "first"
+	Last   Positional = "last"
+)
+
 type (
 	// UnmarshalFunc is a function which can unmarshal Caddyfile
 	// tokens into zero or more config values using a Helper type.
diff --git a/caddyconfig/httpcaddyfile/options.go b/caddyconfig/httpcaddyfile/options.go
index 9ff62d07..70d475d6 100644
--- a/caddyconfig/httpcaddyfile/options.go
+++ b/caddyconfig/httpcaddyfile/options.go
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ func parseOptOrder(d *caddyfile.Dispenser, _ any) (any, error) {
 	if !d.Next() {
 		return nil, d.ArgErr()
 	}
-	pos := d.Val()
+	pos := Positional(d.Val())
 
 	newOrder := directiveOrder
 
@@ -121,22 +121,22 @@ func parseOptOrder(d *caddyfile.Dispenser, _ any) (any, error) {
 
 	// act on the positional
 	switch pos {
-	case "first":
+	case First:
 		newOrder = append([]string{dirName}, newOrder...)
 		if d.NextArg() {
 			return nil, d.ArgErr()
 		}
 		directiveOrder = newOrder
 		return newOrder, nil
-	case "last":
+	case Last:
 		newOrder = append(newOrder, dirName)
 		if d.NextArg() {
 			return nil, d.ArgErr()
 		}
 		directiveOrder = newOrder
 		return newOrder, nil
-	case "before":
-	case "after":
+	case Before:
+	case After:
 	default:
 		return nil, d.Errf("unknown positional '%s'", pos)
 	}
@@ -153,9 +153,9 @@ func parseOptOrder(d *caddyfile.Dispenser, _ any) (any, error) {
 	// insert directive into proper position
 	for i, d := range newOrder {
 		if d == otherDir {
-			if pos == "before" {
+			if pos == Before {
 				newOrder = append(newOrder[:i], append([]string{dirName}, newOrder[i:]...)...)
-			} else if pos == "after" {
+			} else if pos == After {
 				newOrder = append(newOrder[:i+1], append([]string{dirName}, newOrder[i+1:]...)...)
 			}
 			break