Category Wise Search
by Shambhu Patnaik · Search
Also makes 6 other plugins · 2.2K+ installs across the portfolio →
Category Wise Search Widget plugin.You have option search specific category content.
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 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
400+
≈480 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: “category wise search widget”, “exclude search category” and “search” 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.
47 health vs 63 average across 980 Search plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.7%
of downloads still active
At least 400 of 24K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Search plugin keeps 0.7%, across 647 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Search 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 7+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.1.28, 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 2778 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.1.28; the current branch is 6.8
4.8★ over 6 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2778 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 wise search widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| exclude search category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| search by category 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 wise search widget”, “exclude search category” and “search” 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 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 180 · 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
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
7.6y ago
latest release · v1.3 · 26 Mar 2019
5
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 “400+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2 months ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 500.
Install history since 26 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ insight696.8y ago
Please keep the plugin up to date. It works extremely well and I appreciate your efforts.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ RussiaCristiana10.6y ago
Simple and customizable for our library-site, althought we are new with wp. Hoping it will be regularly implemented!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Dave11.0y ago
Exactly what I needed: a search form that lets you search by category. This does exactly what it says. I tried a few others which didn’t work, but this one is perfect 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ P3Hamburg11.7y ago
Would be even greater if you could use category-names instead of category-ids, but it works fine. Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ milestone12.0y ago
Neat plugin! Used it for a product search (just hid the uNneeded select dropdown with css). cOULDN’T HAVE ASKED FOR MORE.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ joelme12.6y ago
great 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
1 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 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 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 289 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "exclude search category", "search by category" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-29 500+ → 400+ down after 218 days in tier
- 2026-01-23 600+ → 500+ down after 155 days in tier
- 2025-08-21 700+ → 600+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-08-20 600+ → 700+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-08-18 700+ → 600+ down after 145 days in tier
- 2025-03-26 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-03-25 700+ → 800+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-03-23 800+ → 700+ down after 1 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).
-
Search Meter 20K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags B -
Sitekit 3K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags C -
Blocksy Companion 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A -
Search Regex 100K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Category Wise Search into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/category-wise-search" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Category Wise Search — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Category Wise Search: 400+ active installs, 4.8★ (6 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/category-wise-search
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