Compact Archives
by Syed Balkhi · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 99 other plugins · 21.7M+ installs across the portfolio →
Displays a smart monthly archive of posts in a more compact form rather than the default long archive 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
B 81/100
Few reviews
Active installs
2K+
≈2.5K estimated
Momentum
+33%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: One page off on “archive”. #14 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
81 health vs 56 average across 5,904 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.5%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 56.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,194 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.
This plugin shipped 1 release 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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 260 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.9.11; the current branch is 7.1
5.0★ over 9 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.2★ 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.
29
Momentum
Losing ground
-1.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.3
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| compact | #2 | #5 | 0 |
| monthly archive your tag | #3 | #6 | down 2 |
| archives your tag | #4 | #7 | 0 |
| yearly archive your tag | #5 | #6 | down 3 |
| archive your tag | #14 | #14 | down 4 |
| archives widget | #6 | #15 | 0 |
| archives page | #9 | #15 | down 1 |
| yearly | #14 | #18 | down 2 |
| wp get archives | #23 | #24 | down 5 |
| page archive | #23 | #19 | up 1 |
| archive page | #24 | #21 | 0 |
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
30 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 11 listed. 19 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- One page off on “archive”. #14 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- “widget” isn't earning a slot. You list it, but you're not in the first 24 results for that search. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,491 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.6K · 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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
9mo ago
latest release · v4.1.1 · 16 Feb 2026
14
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 84% 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 3.5 years ago; the previous band took 7.3 years to cross, which places it about 52% of the way through.
Install history since 1 Mar 2018
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ dadiocoleman5.6y ago
Very simple and works, however, the title attribute is stuck on 2001. I’d suggest the plugin author fix this officially by changing the hardcoded 2001 to $year on line 97 of inc/compact-archives.php. This topic was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by dadiocoleman.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ face0ff5.7y ago
Works fine. Can be easily adjusted. Love it!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Clarence Johnson6.5y ago
Does the job.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ digitaleyecandy6.8y ago
Can be customized to filter on CATEGORY with a few changes.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ marcodimitri110.9y ago
Very cool plugin. Thank you
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Deceneus11.1y ago
The plugin works great! If u plan to use the plugin for a different language website and don’t want to rely on the WPLANG variable (deprecated after WP 4.0) you should edit the plugin and simply replace the existent localization DIR to something like this: setlocale(LC_TIME, "ro_RO"); // set localization language where ro_RO is the code for Romanian, fr_FR for French, etc.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Armatin12.8y ago
I use it on [ link redacted, please do not post links in the reviews section ]. Totally thumbs up!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ razoredger13.4y ago
I like this better than the default format. Very sleek.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 4.1.1 Improved input validation for shortcode parameters. Enhanced output sanitization. Added URL escaping for archive links. New: Added classname attribute to shortcode for custom CSS classes. New: Shortcode before attribute 4.1.1
- — Version 4.1.0 New: Support the block based Widget editor introduced in WordPress 5.8. 4.1.0
- — Version 4.0.0 New: Improve caching of database queries by using the WordPress object cache. Enhancement: Use WordPress Core date internationalization. Enhancement: Use language files generated by translate.wordpress.org. Fix: Styling 4.0.0
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (4.1.1). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 6.4 Compact Archives <= 4.1.0 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-09-22 CVE-2025-58001 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 4.1.0 Patched in 4.1.1
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.
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 4 languages, 2 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.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
8 of 8 pass · checked 3 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Displays a smart monthly archive of posts in a more compact form rather than the default long archive widget."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 5 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 5 of 5 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("great for", "suitable for", "use this").
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Gutenberg, Block editor, WPForms, Google Analytics.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,235 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "yearly archive" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2023-05-06 3K+ → 2K+ down after 2667 days in tier
- 2016-01-16 2K+ → 3K+ up
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).
-
Sitekit 3K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags C -
Simple Yearly Archive 6K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A - A Advanced Posts/Page 3K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
Collapsing Archives 3K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B - E Expanding Archives 3K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A
- U Ultimate Noindex Nofollow Tool II 3K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Compact Archives into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/compact-archives" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Compact Archives — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Compact Archives: 2K+ active installs, 5.0★ (9 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/compact-archives
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