Adds a very simple link button near the caption field of the media uploader.
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 46/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
50+
≈59 estimated
Momentum
-10%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “caption”, “file” and “link” 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.
46 health vs 62 average across 3,286 Media plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.3%
of downloads still active
At least 50 of 3.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Media plugin keeps 0.8%, across 2,321 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Media 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 11+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.4.34, 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 4044 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.4.34; the current branch is 6.8
4.8★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.15★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4044 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| caption your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| file your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| link your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| media your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| upload 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
- “caption”, “file” and “link” 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 158 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #20,100 to #21,300, alongside the other plugins at 50+ 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 1 Nov 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
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 “50+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 15 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 1 Nov 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ weissmike11.1y ago
The plugin author is handsome and can read good.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ biba10211.3y ago
easy to use & helpful. thanks!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ deprims11.5y ago
this is so usefull, efficient, to put credit link direct to the caption text, but need additonal minor option to let the link open in new tab 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Evan Scheingross11.8y ago
This little plugin is exactly what I was looking for to make adding hyperlinks in image captions easy for my client! Thus far it’s been working flawlessly. A couple of ideas to make it even better: 1.) Can this plugin use the native WP “Add Link” popup window that allows users to either paste in a hyperlink or choose from existing pages/posts? It would be great to have that kind of consistency with the hyperlink interface. 2.) If #1 isn’t possible, can we at least get an option to “open link in new window”? Again, thanks for your hard work on this awesome plugin!
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 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Adds a very simple link button near the caption field of the media uploader."
- ! 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 121 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "file" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-08-09 40+ → 50+ up after 6 days in tier
- 2025-08-03 50+ → 40+ down after 4 days in tier
- 2025-07-30 40+ → 50+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-07-29 50+ → 40+ down after 19 days in tier
- 2025-07-10 40+ → 50+ up after 11 days in tier
- 2025-06-29 50+ → 40+ down after 211 days in tier
- 2024-11-30 60+ → 50+ down after 323 days in tier
- 2024-01-12 70+ → 60+ down after 50 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).
-
Phoenix Media Rename 50K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Clean Image Filenames 30K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags B - D Disable Real MIME Check 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D
- F Filenames to latin 9K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Media Deduper 9K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags C -
WP Original Media Path 5K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Caption Linker into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/caption-links" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Caption Linker — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Caption Linker: 50+ active installs, 4.8★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/caption-links
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