Categorized Tag Cloud
by whiletrue · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 6 other plugins · 2.6K+ installs across the portfolio →
A cloud with the most used tags in a sidebar widget, filtered by post category.
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
B 82/100
no flags
Active installs
1K+
≈1.6K estimated
Momentum
+31%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “categories” and “sidebar” for “cloud” and “tag”. “categories” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “cloud” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “sidebar” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “tag” sits at #21 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
82 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.7%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 60.2K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,188 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.
This plugin shipped 1 release 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 78 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
3.8★ over 10 reviews, smoothed to 4.05★ 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.
33
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.5
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
7%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.2
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| tag cloud | #1 | #5 | 0 |
| categorized | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| tag sidebar your tag | #3 | #9 | down 1 |
| tag cloud widget | #5 | #13 | 0 |
| cloud | #16 | #23 | up 1 |
| wordpress tag cloud plugin | #6 | #18 | — |
| free wp tag cloud plugin | #7 | #20 | — |
| wp tag cloud | #7 | #20 | — |
| tag | #21 | #22 | 0 |
| tag widget | #18 | #22 | 0 |
| categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| sidebar your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| tags your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
19 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 10 listed. 9 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “categories” and “sidebar” for “cloud” and “tag”. “categories” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “cloud” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “sidebar” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “tag” sits at #21 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 2.3K · 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
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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.
1
releases in the last 12 months
6mo ago
latest release · v1.2.25 · 17 May 2026
4
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 “1K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 15 months ago; the previous band took 3.1 years to cross, which places it about 60% of the way through.
Install history since 22 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ superbr1.9y ago
Simple, objective and amazing!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ RT19592.9y ago
I absolutely love this plug-in. The ability to customize it is the cherry on top.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jgjh1515.0y ago
The category filter does not work
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ yodastudio6.6y ago
<!– wp:paragraph –> <p class=””>Simple and useful plugin, it does what it’s meant for.<br>Random order does not work properly and with tags count it would be perfect.</p> <!– /wp:paragraph –> This topic was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by yodastudio. This topic was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by yodastudio. This topic was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by yodastudio. This topic was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by yodastudio.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ tashatmans6.7y ago
plugin does’nt show tags. must be developed to show plugin tags.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kosmo4d10.5y ago
the tags appears outside the limits, disordered. The tags appears without spaces, all together. Its horrible. I dont know how to fix this. i was looking some help, but one user aws waiting 11 months an answer. Still waiting.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Professor OD11.7y ago
I’m missing something in setting up the widget. I want to use a sidebar widget to present top tagged posts from a category slugged “media” I placed that slug in the category filter. The result was what appears to be a cloud of top tags from the site overall. I’ve tried excluding those tags, but even that does not work. Could it be that “filter” removes the identified slug from the tag cloud?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jose11.8y ago
Perfect plugin. I was searching for a plugin to allow me to exclude certain tags without having to alter WP Core at wp-includes/widgets.php I found a number of very popular plugins (based on download) but they have not been updated to 4.1, or updated within the last year. One popular plugin even states that future development has ceased. I tested this lkugin and it lets me exclude and style tag buttons perfectly. Simple and sweet. Thanks.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.4.3
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 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 3 headings and 3 lists.
- ! Enough to quote 711 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "categories", "tag sidebar" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-08-07 2K+ → 1K+ down after 1130 days in tier
- 2022-07-04 3K+ → 2K+ down after 937 days in tier
- 2019-12-10 1K+ → 3K+ up after 1500 days in tier
- 2015-11-01 400+ → 1K+ up after 5 days in tier
- 2015-10-27 1K+ → 400+ 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).
-
Flexible Posts Widget 7K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags D -
Collapsing Categories 4K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags B - R Recent Posts by Category Widget 4K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags D
- T Taxonomy Dropdown Widget 1K+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags B
- T Taxonomy List Widget 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags B
-
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Categorized Tag Cloud into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/categorized-tag-cloud" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Categorized Tag Cloud — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Categorized Tag Cloud: 1K+ active installs, 3.8★ (10 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/categorized-tag-cloud
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