Category Archives Block
by Daniel Floeter · Blocks
Also makes 5 other plugins · 11.8K+ installs across the portfolio →
Displays a monthly or yearly archive of posts for one or more specific categories.
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 81/100
Few reviews
Active installs
900+
≈990 estimated
Momentum
+26%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “block” for “yearly archive”. “block” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “yearly archive” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
81 health vs 71 average across 2,524 Blocks plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →8.7%
of downloads still active
At least 900 of 10.3K 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 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 138 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
4.2★ over 5 reviews, smoothed to 4.11★ 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.
34
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.5
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
11%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.6
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| category archives | #1 | #3 | — |
| archives your tag | #5 | #20 | up 1 |
| category archive | #2 | #6 | 0 |
| yearly archive | #5 | #10 | down 1 |
| yearly your tag | #9 | #19 | 0 |
| archive your tag | #16 | #21 | down 1 |
| block category | #6 | #18 | up 1 |
| monthly archive | #6 | #19 | down 1 |
| category your tag | #23 | #23 | 0 |
| archives page | #10 | #21 | down 1 |
| wp get archives | #24 | #24 | down 1 |
| top categories | #24 | #23 | 0 |
| block your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
23 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 12 listed. 11 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “block” for “yearly archive”. “block” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “yearly archive” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “archive”. #16 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 904 · 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
5mo ago
latest release · v1.0.4 · 15 Jun 2026
6
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 98% 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 “900+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 14 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 4 Oct 2022
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.4.2
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 2 languages, 0 at 90% or more
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
4 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 "Displays a monthly or yearly archive of posts for one or more specific categories."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you want"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Gutenberg, Block editor.
- ✓ Headings and lists 3 headings and 1 list.
- ! Enough to quote 758 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "archives" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-09-20 800+ → 900+ up after 199 days in tier
- 2025-03-05 700+ → 800+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2025-03-02 800+ → 700+ down after 5 days in tier
- 2025-02-25 700+ → 800+ up after 142 days in tier
- 2024-10-06 600+ → 700+ up after 152 days in tier
- 2024-05-07 500+ → 600+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-05-06 600+ → 500+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-05-05 500+ → 600+ up after 10 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).
- E Extra Shortcodes 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
-
Simple Yearly Archive 6K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A - A Advanced Posts/Page 3K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
JS Archive List 3K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags B -
Sitekit 3K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags C - U Ultimate Noindex Nofollow Tool II 3K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Category Archives Block into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/category-archives-block" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Category Archives Block — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Category Archives Block: 900+ active installs, 4.2★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/category-archives-block
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