Advanced Custom Fields – Widget Relationship Field add-on
by djbokka · Admin & Utilities
This plugin is an add-on for Advanced Custom Fields. It allows you to use an ACF "relationship" field to choose widgets at a page level.
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 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
500+
≈570 estimated
Momentum
n/a
no downloads in the prior 30 days to compare with
Biggest opportunity: “widget”, “widget filter” and “widget management” 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.
45 health vs 56 average across 5,909 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →5.8%
of downloads still active
At least 500 of 8.6K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,194 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 12+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.6.0, well behind 7.1.
Details
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 4689 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.6.0; the current branch is 7.1
5.0★ over 2 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.1★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4689 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| advanced custom fields your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget filter your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget management your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget relationship 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
- “widget”, “widget filter” and “widget management” 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 · 1,492 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 177 · 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.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
12.8y ago
latest release · v1.3.4 · 2 Jan 2014
10
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
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 “500+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 68% of the way through.
Install history since 4 Jun 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ funsella12.3y ago
If you are using ACF to build/customise your theme this plugin is a must have. It takes the pain out of organising what widgets you want to display on a post or page. I love it and its now going to be a part of all my builds. A big thanks to the author djbokka for creating and sharing this.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ keiju13.6y ago
This works as intended and better than the competition. I tried 3 other plugins to get the ‘choose the widgets in every post’ functionality and only this worked as I wanted to. Remember that you need Advanced Custom Fields for this to work but you should have that plug-in also because it´s also so good.
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.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
2 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "This plugin is an add-on for Advanced Custom Fields. It allows you to use an ACF "relationship" field to ch..."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you have"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Advanced Custom Fields, ACF.
- ! Headings and lists 3 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 698 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("widget filter", "widget management", "widget relationship" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-10 600+ → 500+ down after 168 days in tier
- 2026-01-23 700+ → 600+ down after 119 days in tier
- 2025-09-26 800+ → 700+ down after 58 days in tier
- 2025-07-30 700+ → 800+ up after 104 days in tier
- 2025-04-17 800+ → 700+ down after 247 days in tier
- 2024-08-13 900+ → 800+ down after 387 days in tier
- 2023-07-23 1K+ → 900+ down after 708 days in tier
- 2021-08-14 2K+ → 1K+ down
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).
-
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO 100K+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag B -
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Image Widget 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Advanced Custom Fields – Widget Relationship Field add-on into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/advanced-custom-fields-widget-relationship-field-add-on" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Advanced Custom Fields – Widget Relationship Field add-on — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Advanced Custom Fields – Widget Relationship Field add-on: 500+ active installs, 5.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-04. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/advanced-custom-fields-widget-relationship-field-add-on
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