Bordered Blocks – Add subtle borders or outlines and labels to Blocks in the Editor
by Senff - a11n · Blocks
Also makes 9 other plugins · 10.2K+ installs across the portfolio →
Bordered Blocks adds subtle borders to all blocks in the WordPress Post/Page editor to give you a much better overview of the layout of your page.
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
A 86/100
Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈250 estimated
Momentum
+7%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “blocks”, “editor” and “gutenberg” 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.
86 health vs 71 average across 2,524 Blocks plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →4.3%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 4.7K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Blocks plugin keeps 2.1%, across 1,579 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Blocks plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 2 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 67 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 6 reviews, smoothed to 4.20★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
40
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 24d
25%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 24d
-0.3
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| borders your tag | #2 | #9 | 0 |
| labels your tag | #24 | #20 | down 1 |
| blocks your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| editor your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| gutenberg your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
5 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 2 listed. 3 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “blocks”, “editor” and “gutenberg” 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 6 Oct 2022 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 355 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #11,300 to #12,900, alongside the other plugins at 200+ 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.
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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
2
releases in the last 12 months
7mo ago
latest release · v1.2 · 18 Apr 2026
9
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 68% 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 “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 12 months ago; the previous band took 24 months to cross, which places it about 49% of the way through.
Install history since 5 Oct 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Fabrice7mo ago
Works like a charm: simple, reliable, well-designed.One regret, however: the On/Off toggle is missing from admin pages involving blocks, eg./wp-admin/widgets.phpwith theme Twenty Seventeen.Maybe for v1.2.1?Thank you for this excellent plugin! This topic was modified 3 months ago by Fabrice.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Avrom10mo ago
First off, thank you for creating this much needed plugin.. I’m completely surprised there aren’t more downloads for this. The whole concept of an editor without any guidelines or borders baffles me, and makes Gutenberg very difficult to use. Your plugin solves this issue, and makes the editor much easier to use. Thank you so much, and please keep the plugin updated – we need you!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ branchus1.7y ago
Once you start getting paragraphs nested in columns, nested in stacks, nested in groups, the block editor can get a bit hard to navigate. Using Bordered Blocks makes life so much easier. I recommend this plug in to anyone using block editor.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ gregorwendland3.2y ago
My custmers who partly dont understand WordPress Blocks will love that! Thank you! This topic was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by gregorwendland.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Stefan Pejcic3.4y ago
WE NEED THIS IN CORE
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sudeposutemizligi3.9y ago
I am always afraid to use the default gutenberg editor just because i feel i am putting things in the air, not on a paper or screen let’s say. Why is it like this i donno. But i found the one and only plugin to get rid this mess.. I hope it is not adding any css or js after the page is published. Or after the plugin is disabled whe neverything is done and i closed the editor. Congratulations to the author.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
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
5 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Bordered Blocks adds subtle borders to all blocks in the WordPress Post/Page editor to give you a much bett..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 8 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 7 of 8 read like questions a user would type.
- ! 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 2 headings and 1 list.
- ! Enough to quote 537 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "gutenberg" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-11-10 100+ → 200+ up after 724 days in tier
- 2023-11-17 90+ → 100+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2023-11-15 100+ → 90+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2023-11-14 90+ → 100+ up after 27 days in tier
- 2023-10-18 80+ → 90+ up after 14 days in tier
- 2023-10-04 70+ → 80+ up after 14 days in tier
- 2023-09-20 80+ → 70+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2023-09-19 70+ → 80+ up after 4 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).
-
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A -
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags A -
GenerateBlocks 200K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags A -
Getwid – Gutenberg Blocks 50K+ installs · 4.6★ · 3 shared tags A -
Genesis Blocks 40K+ installs · 3.8★ · 3 shared tags B -
Snow Monkey Forms 30K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Bordered Blocks – Add subtle borders or outlines and labels to Blocks in the Editor into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/bordered-blocks" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Bordered Blocks – Add subtle borders or outlines and labels to Blocks in the Editor — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Bordered Blocks – Add subtle borders or outlines and labels to Blocks in the Editor: 200+ active installs, 5.0★ (6 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/bordered-blocks
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