Return shortlink button vs Custom Meta Widget

Head-to-head on the signals that matter, from the public WordPress.org data.

Health B79

Health D51

Active-install trajectory

Custom Meta Widget moved down one install band, 8K+ to 7K+. That's a single step across the whole window, so there's no trajectory to draw. The download trend below moves daily.

Metric	Return shortlink button	Custom Meta Widget
Active installs Modeled from the public "N+" band and recent downloads.	100–200	7K–8K ✓
Install trend Change in active installs across the charted window.	0% ✓	-13%
Overall health	B · 79 ✓	D · 51
Maintenance How recently the plugin was updated.	89/100 ✓	3/100
Rating quality Volume-adjusted review quality.	74/100	91/100 ✓
Support Share of forum threads marked resolved.	70/100	70/100
Rating (weighted for review count)	4.0★	4.6★ ✓
Reviews	1	23 ✓
Ranking optimization How well the listing is tuned to rank on wp.org.	87/100 ✓	45/100
Removal risk Maintenance signals that precede a wp.org closure. Not an official status.	Low ✓	High
Last updated	6mo ago ✓	8.7y ago
Downloads · 30d	137	390 ✓
Install conversion Active installs over lifetime downloads. Downloads include every update, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower.	2.3%	3.2% ✓
Category	Admin & Utilities	Admin & Utilities

✓ marks the stronger plugin on each row. Rows where they're level show no marker.

Release activity

Return shortlink buttonCustom Meta Widget

7-day average daily downloads. Downloads spike for about a week after each release as the install base re-downloads, so read this as release cadence, not growth.