Advanced Categories Widget
by darrinb · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 14 other plugins · 1.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
A highly customizable categories widget for WordPress with thumbnails and descriptions.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 48/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
700+
≈770 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: “categories”, “categories widget” and “category” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
48 health vs 56 average across 5,897 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.1%
of downloads still active
At least 700 of 22.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,190 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Admin & Utilities plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 10+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.5.33, well behind 6.8.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 8 reviews to 2017-03-31Reviewers call it simple to set up and easy to customise with a bit of CSS, with one asking for translatable Post/Posts labels.
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 3734 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.5.33; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 8 reviews, smoothed to 4.22★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3734 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| categories widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| category widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| post category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “categories”, “categories widget” and “category” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 3.3K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “700+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 72% of the way through.
Install history since 24 Oct 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Jesus Parrado Alameda9.6y ago
You save me a lot of work, thank you!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ geokongr9.7y ago
Very useful. In a future update i suggest to give the ability to translate the words Post/Posts. I did that by just editing the 372 line of the fileclass-advanced-categories-widget-views.php with the following code with the following: __(‘$type_text’, ‘advanced-categories-widget’)
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Ian Erlwanger9.7y ago
Very simple and easy to use. You need a little coding experience to get the most out of it, but with just cursory knowledge of CSS you can completely customise every aspect of the category display.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ cagraphicdesign9.7y ago
The look is clean and simple and the only plugin I found where I can easily select the categories to display. I used it in two separate widgets in one sidebar and it looks great
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ stevanator9.8y ago
Saved me a lot of time
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jrcollins10.2y ago
This plugin is highly customizable and easily configured. It’s a great way to show off your categories.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ IdeFixx10.4y ago
This plugin is just exactly what I was looking for! With another plugin “Widget logic” works perfectly – quick and easy settings on a website with many categories which are specifically splitted.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ spaceshipb10.5y ago
A great way to highlight important categories when your category count starts to get unruly.
Read on wp.org ↗
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
2 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,489 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "post-category" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-21 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-07-20 700+ → 800+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-07-19 800+ → 700+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-07-16 700+ → 800+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-07-15 800+ → 700+ down after 169 days in tier
- 2026-01-27 900+ → 800+ down after 5 days in tier
- 2026-01-22 800+ → 900+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-01-20 900+ → 800+ down after 8 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
Media Library Categories 20K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A - R Recent Posts by Category Widget 4K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
- C Custom Recent Posts Widget 1K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
- T Taxonomy Checklist Tree 400+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
- H Home Categories 400+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Advanced Categories Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/advanced-categories-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Advanced Categories Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Advanced Categories Widget: 700+ active installs, 5.0★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/advanced-categories-widget
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