Featured Category Widget
by tepelstreel · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 10 other plugins · 2.6K+ installs across the portfolio →
The Featured Category Widget is basically a Featured Post Widget for a 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
D 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈150 estimated
Momentum
-17%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “category”, “column” and “newspaper” 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.
45 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.3%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 30.1K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,187 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.
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 10+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.5.33, 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 3900 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.5.33; the current branch is 6.8
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: Last updated 3900 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| column your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| newspaper your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| sidebar 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. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “category”, “column” and “newspaper” 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 100 · 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
10.7y ago
latest release · v2.5 · 26 Feb 2016
22
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 17 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 19 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Saeed Speed11.4y ago
Really Amazing , Perfectly , and all inposible words, i try much and much plugins for my purpose but there was no answer , AND THIS ONE YES! Thanks A lot MANS
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ nigeljagger11.6y ago
…because it’s not working with pagination (wpPageNavi).
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ brybott12.7y ago
After running into issues with other similar plugins, I was hopeful about this one. Unfortunately, it seems you can only determine which pages it appears on from within the widget settings. It doesn’t seem to care if it is in a sidebar and a page’s template calls that sidebar. It only cares if the plugins page types are selected. If I’m missing something, I’d be happy to be corrected.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ cscottb13.5y ago
I am just getting started with this plugin but it show good potential for placing featured categories on a magazine style page.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ maisonet14.0y ago
Love this widget. It is the perfect solution to show the posts that I want to display and it’s content. It is easy to customize, if necessary. I like that the thumbnails for the posts show as desire. Thanks for a great plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.2.4
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 53 languages, 1 at 90% or more
Plus 29 more locales with partial translations.
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 27 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 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 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 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 724 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("column", "newspaper", "sidebar" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-06-10 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-06-09 100+ → 200+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2025-06-06 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-06-05 100+ → 200+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-06-04 200+ → 100+ down after 507 days in tier
- 2024-01-14 300+ → 200+ down after 349 days in tier
- 2023-01-30 400+ → 300+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2023-01-29 300+ → 400+ up after 2 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).
-
List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags A - R Recent Posts by Category Widget 4K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags D
- N NS Category Widget 1K+ installs · 4.6★ · 3 shared tags B
- L LJ Multi Column Archive 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
-
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Image Widget 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Featured Category Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/category-feature" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Featured Category Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Featured Category Widget: 100+ active installs, 4.2★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/category-feature
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