Advanced Search Widget
by Aaron Axelsen · Search
Also makes 3 other plugins · 160+ installs across the portfolio →
Allows you to add a widget to search custom post types along with other options
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 44/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈150 estimated
Momentum
+19%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “search” and “widget” 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.
44 health vs 63 average across 978 Search plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.4%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 24K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Search plugin keeps 0.7%, across 645 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Search 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 3.7.41, well behind 6.8.
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 4697 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.7.41; the current branch is 6.8
4.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.10★ and held back under 25 reviews
2 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4697 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “search” and “widget” 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 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 126 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
12.9y ago
latest release · v0.3 · 21 Dec 2013
3
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 “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 8 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 23 Oct 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ fierywraith112.2y ago
Worked great in 3.9.2 twentyfourteen for me.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ a_johnson13.8y ago
When plugin WP E-Commerce is on the site and when the advanced search widget is set to wpsc_products the recent posts widget disappears from the footer widget area. The regular site search works (except it doesn’t detect products) and no other widget dissappears.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.2.4
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 25 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Allows you to add a widget to search custom post types along with other options"
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! 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 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 350 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 2 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-03-15 200+ → 100+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2026-03-09 100+ → 200+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-08 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-07 100+ → 200+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-03-05 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-04 100+ → 200+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-03-02 200+ → 100+ down after 4 days in tier
- 2026-02-26 100+ → 200+ up after 3 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).
-
Search Meter 20K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags B -
Sitekit 3K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags C -
Blocksy Companion 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A -
Search Regex 100K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Advanced Search Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/advanced-search-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Advanced Search Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Advanced Search Widget: 100+ active installs, 4.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/advanced-search-widget
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