cbnet Social Menu
by Chip Bennett · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 8 other plugins · 2.6K+ installs across the portfolio →
Manage and display your social network profile links using a custom navigation menu.
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
10+
≈15 estimated
Momentum
0%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “custom nav menu”, “menu” and “social” 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 10 of 3.5K 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 3853 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.5.33; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3853 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.
32
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 25d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 25d
-0.1
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| cbnet your tag | #4 | #4 | 0 |
| custom nav menu your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| menu your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| social your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| social networks your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
9 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 8 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
- “custom nav menu”, “menu” and “social” 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 57 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #30,100 to #45,000, alongside the other plugins at 10+ 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.
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
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
10.6y ago
latest release · v1.0 · 13 Apr 2016
1
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 “10+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.7 years 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 12 May 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Shapeshifter 311.7y ago
This year, I started using a “Simple and Elegant” one column, blogging theme from Automattic that I still REALLY like. It was launched on WordPress.com back in May 29, 2014 and later offered here on WordPress.org. The main reason that I like it is that its main column is MUCH WIDER than most of the other themes from Automattic. The Theme Designer had a particular idea in mind, which was “Simplicity and Elegance”. To acquire that design and display, the developer had to cut back on “unneeded” options that got in the way of the design goal. This is NOT a slam on the developer (I still like and use the theme). It was a necessary decision to reach the targeted goal. Sometimes when you chose a theme from Themes Directory, you will think of a way to use it that the original designer never contemplated. That is when Plugins fit in, and this plugin is an example of filling an end user’s individual needs. My theme (Kelly) only came with One Primary Nav Menu. It was missing a “Social Links Menu” that other themes from Automattic seem to include: Sorbet , Edin , Intergalactic , Harmonic , and Minnow . SO, if you find a WordPress Theme that you really like; AND it is missing a “Social Links Menu” that other themes may already provide; THIS PLUGIN will add it back in with 4-5 options of Social Icon Libraries included. What more could you ask for?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Emil Uzelac12.7y ago
Where have you been all my life? Very easy to use: create a menu, add your desired link(s), name it and you are all set. It does not get any easier. Plugin comes particularly handy with clients sites. Thanks Chip!
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3.2
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 "Manage and display your social network profile links using a custom navigation menu."
- ! 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 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 6 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,480 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("cbnet", "custom nav menu", "social networks" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-02-04 20+ → 10+ down after 344 days in tier
- 2023-02-25 30+ → 20+ down after 144 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 50+ → 30+ 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).
-
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Max Mega Menu 300K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Menu Image, Icons made easy 100K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag B - D Duplicate Menu 100K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for cbnet Social Menu into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/cbnet-social-menu" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="cbnet Social Menu — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> cbnet Social Menu: 10+ active installs, 5.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/cbnet-social-menu
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