Category Icon
by pixelgrade · Uncategorized
Also makes 8 other plugins · 38.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
A WordPress plugin to attach an icon and/or image to taxonomy terms.
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 80/100
Few reviews
Active installs
2K+
≈2.5K estimated
Momentum
+7%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “category” for “category icon”. “category” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “category icon” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
80 health vs 58 average across 25,734 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.1%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 94.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,766 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized 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 3 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 79 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
1.0★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 3.92★ 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.
60
Momentum
Gaining ground
+1.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 22d
67%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 22d
+1.0
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 icon | #6 | #24 | up 2 |
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| icon your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| image your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| taxonomy your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| term your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
6 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 5 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “category” for “category icon”. “category” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “category icon” sits at #6 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 1.3K · 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.
3
releases in the last 12 months
3mo ago
latest release · v1.0.5 · 13 Aug 2026
8
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 81% 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 “2K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 22 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 1 Nov 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ mogeh3.9y ago
How would someone implement your plugin if there is no documentation? The idea is good but the delivery is poor taste.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ farzinsb6.3y ago
It is causing errors for my other plugins without showing any errors on screen or in error_log file or chrome console in latest wp update 5.4.2. so I removed it. This topic was modified 6 years ago by farzinsb. This topic was modified 6 years ago by farzinsb.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Joe Bloggs6.9y ago
This plugin is absolutely useless without any instructions on how to actually fetch the icon after it has been assigned to a taxonomy term. No support what’s so ever, support questions unanswered, figure out for your self kind of thing. Well done guys!
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.0.4 Updated WordPress compatibility metadata for WordPress 7.0. Fixed Plugin Check errors in the release package. Hardened taxonomy term meta saving with explicit nonce and capability checks. Escaped taxonomy admin output an 1.0.4
- — Version 1.0.3 Security: sanitize and strictly validate term icon / image IDs on save and escape them on output to prevent XSS via the term_icon_value and term_image_value fields, even for Editor-level users. 1.0.3
- — Version 1.0.2 Security: patched blind XXE/SSRF in SVG upload flow – external entity loading and network access are now disabled; malformed SVGs are rejected (fail-closed). 1.0.2
- — Version 1.0.1 Added sanitization for SVG uploads to prevent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. Implemented secure file naming for uploaded SVG files by appending a random suffix to filenames. Enhanced upload handling to ensur 1.0.1
- — Version 1.0.0 Ensure compatibility with WordPress 5.9 Add getter functions for term icon and image. Update build process. Clarify description and instructions about what this plugin does and doesn’t do. 1.0.0
- — Version 0.7.1 Improve compatibility with WordPress 5.7 0.7.1
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 4 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (1.0.5). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2025-12-25 CVE-2025-68525 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.0.2 Patched in 1.0.3
- Patched Medium · 6.3 Category Icon <= 1.0.1 - Authenticated (Author+) XML External Entity Injection ↗2025-06-03 CVE-2025-31039 Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference Affects <= 1.0.1 Patched in 1.0.2
- 2025-04-03 CVE-2025-31825 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory Affects <= 1.0.1 Patched in 1.0.2
- Patched Medium · 6.4 Category Icon <= 1.0.0 - Authenticated (Author+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via SVG File Upload ↗2024-10-11 CVE-2024-8915 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.0.0 Patched in 1.0.1
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 6 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
1 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 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 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 448 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-01-22 3K+ → 2K+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2025-01-20 2K+ → 3K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-01-19 3K+ → 2K+ down after 476 days in tier
- 2023-10-01 4K+ → 3K+ down after 362 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 5K+ → 4K+ down after 413 days in tier
- 2021-08-17 7K+ → 5K+ down after 624 days in tier
- 2019-12-02 5K+ → 7K+ up after 1304 days in tier
- 2016-05-07 200+ → 5K+ up after 158 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).
-
Taxonomy Images 8K+ installs · 4.3★ · 4 shared tags D -
Term Management Tools 10K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags B -
Taxonomy Thumbnail 3K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags D -
Taxonomy Switcher 2K+ installs · 4.6★ · 3 shared tags A -
WP Term Images 2K+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags A -
Search & Filter 40K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Category Icon into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/category-icon" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Category Icon — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Category Icon: 2K+ active installs, 1.0★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/category-icon
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