Classic Text Widget
by Victor Font · Admin & Utilities
The classic pre-WordPress version 4.8 text widget
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 50/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
2K+
≈2.5K estimated
Momentum
+21%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “classic text widget”, “text” and “text widget” 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.
50 health vs 56 average across 5,902 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →9.0%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 22.2K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,192 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 7+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.2.30, 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 2744 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.2.30; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 15 reviews, smoothed to 4.31★ and held back under 25 reviews
3 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2744 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| classic text widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| text your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| text widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “classic text widget”, “text” and “text widget” 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 425 · 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
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
9.3y ago
latest release · v1.0.1 · 3 Jul 2017
3
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 “2K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 12 months ago; the previous band took 18 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 3 Nov 2018
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Christoph9.1y ago
The default text widget broke my shortcodes. Thanks for providing an easily solution!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Lee Blue9.3y ago
I was about to make this exact plugin. Thank you for putting this together. Works perfectly!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ editork9.3y ago
A week shot, but at least we’re back to pre-update functionality. Thanks a M I L L I O N !!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ BitEdge9.3y ago
This bug in WP core and then this fix encompases all that is bad and all that is good about WP.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ahmedmusawir9.3y ago
Thank you for rescuing us from the latest WP 4.8 text widget disaster … keep us the awesome work. Thanx again…
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Kramarz9.3y ago
Cheers for the plugin. As much as I like visual editor functionality brought to widgets in WP 4.8, we DO need that classic functionality as well! Hope they will fix it one way or another in some WP 4.8.1 or something… So again, big thanks for the plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Makeworthy Media9.4y ago
Thanks so much for creating this plugin. The WordPress core team doesn’t seem to understand that the appeal of the Text widget was that it was just that, a text widget, not a visual editor. I’m so pissed that now all my text widgets on my clients’ sites are defaulting to the Visual Editor view, screwing up code that was never meant to be used in a Visual Editor. It’s one of the stupidest things the core team has done in awhile. If they wanted to add that functionality they should have made it a whole new widget, not screwed with all the existing widgets. *sigh* Anyway, this helps a lot. Thanks again!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ cthieba9.4y ago
The WordPress 4.8 text widget will remove icon fonts each time the widget is opened for editing since they are “empty” html tags. This widget provides a simple alternative to avoid that problem. Thanks for solving my problem for me.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.0.2 Bumped “Tested up to” tag 1.0.2
- — Version 1.0.1 Added filter so you can provide your own custom class for the widget. If you choose not to create your own class, the default secondary class is custom-classic-textwidget. Usage: add_filter( ‘classic_text_widget_class’, 1.0.1
- — Version 1.0.0 Initial commit based on WordPress 4.7.5 Text Widget and plugin conversion by carasmo Restores the pre 4.8 Classic WordPress text widget just like the good old days. 1.0.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 3 languages, 3 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
3 of 8 pass · checked 30 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 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 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 559 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 2 of 3 tags appear in the text; "classic text widget" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-11-07 3K+ → 2K+ down after 529 days in tier
- 2024-05-27 4K+ → 3K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-05-26 3K+ → 4K+ up after 5 days in tier
- 2024-05-21 4K+ → 3K+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2024-05-19 3K+ → 4K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-05-18 4K+ → 3K+ down after 600 days in tier
- 2022-09-26 5K+ → 4K+ down after 424 days in tier
- 2021-07-29 6K+ → 5K+ down after 578 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).
-
Text Widget Fullscreen 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
String locator 100K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A - E Enhanced Text Widget 30K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag C
- C Custom Shortcodes 5K+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag D
-
Text Replace 3K+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag D - G Gettext override translations 2K+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Classic Text Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/classic-text-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Classic Text Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Classic Text Widget: 2K+ active installs, 5.0★ (15 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/classic-text-widget
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