Core Framework
by Core Framework · Uncategorized
Build and manage a portable CSS framework and design system directly inside WordPress.
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
A 90/100
no flags
Active installs
10K+
≈19K estimated
Momentum
-36%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “css”, “bricks” and “oxygen” for “core”, “core update” and “licensing”. “css” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “core” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “bricks” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #22. “core update” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “oxygen” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #13. “licensing” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
90 health vs 58 average across 25,754 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →4.6%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 218K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,773 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 10 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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Support resolution
Updated 65 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 41 reviews, smoothed to 4.51★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
0 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Mark more forum threads resolved — the resolved ratio feeds the ranking.
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.
37
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
16%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.2
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| css framework | #2 | #3 | 0 |
| framework your tag | #3 | #6 | down 1 |
| portable | #3 | #4 | down 2 |
| core | #4 | #8 | 0 |
| stylesheet your tag | #5 | #8 | up 1 |
| core update | #4 | #6 | up 1 |
| licensing | #6 | #10 | 0 |
| core updates | #7 | #10 | 0 |
| artwork | #7 | #5 | 0 |
| oxygen your tag | #13 | #20 | down 1 |
| core plugins | #5 | #9 | down 1 |
| core plugin | #5 | #9 | down 1 |
| design system | #13 | #18 | up 1 |
| wordpress core | #6 | #11 | 0 |
| utility | #10 | #13 | down 4 |
| utilities | #11 | #13 | down 3 |
| synchronization | #12 | #12 | down 1 |
| bricks your tag | #22 | #23 | down 2 |
| fluid | #12 | #9 | up 1 |
| dependencies | #23 | #17 | up 1 |
| css your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
63 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 42 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
- Swap “css”, “bricks” and “oxygen” for “core”, “core update” and “licensing”. “css” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “core” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “bricks” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #22. “core update” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “oxygen” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #13. “licensing” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “oxygen”. #13 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 28 Mar 2024 · 949 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 23K · 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
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
10
releases in the last 12 months
2mo ago
latest release · v2.0.2 · 28 Aug 2026
31
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. 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 “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 21 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 27 Mar 2024
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Martin Sauter11mo ago
Invaluable for any WordPress site without a page builder.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ lanxalot1.0y ago
I have used ACSS and other Frameworks. I love Core as it is intuitive, lightm it has the right ammount of features for me, and you can easily remove the builder plugin (if you choose to use one) by simply exporting the styles and importing them directly into your builder. No lock-in. Support is great too. Thanks guys!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ groggy721.1y ago
This is a massive productivity investment. I bought the bricks addon and it’s a game changer.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Sunny1.7y ago
This bring much needed CSS class management to the block editor + an entire design Framework system. This allows me to keep a limited set of WP block controls for my clients e.g. font size, colors, while giving my full design control via classes. At some point it would be nice to be able to limit access to specific user roles.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Yasin1.7y ago
This is awesome! 🤩 Thanks for making it freely available for Gutenberg. 🙏 It’s amazingly easy to manage classes and create custom style variation for items.I love that it’s class-based and I can edit the class and it applies to the entire website, unlike other editors where appearance and style settings are tied to the element and can’t be edited globally. This topic was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by Yasin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Skylabb2.0y ago
I wish I knew about this plugin sooner. It’s a game changer to mange design styles and customization. The interface is sleek. There are plenty options to create and manage CSS classes. It’s integrated with Gutenberg editor. There’s one thing that needs to be improved or fixed. The dropdown menu where you select the css styles to apply to a design block tends to jump up and down at times making it very tricky to select the menu items. It seems like a buggy Javascript issue. I left a message under support section for there has been no response from the author for a good couple months. This topic was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by Skylabb.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Francesco2.1y ago
Using with Gutenberg, it helps a lot! Thank you David!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Andrew Pothecary2.3y ago
Excellent plugin. I have just starting using it with Bricks. Highly recommended.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 2.0.0 Released Core Framework as free and open-source software under the MIT License. Included the Gutenberg, Bricks, Oxygen, and Figma integrations without license checks or paid feature gates. Updated the Oxygen 6 integratio 2.0.0
- — Version 2.0.1 Fixed the Auto BEM class generator not appearing in the Bricks structure panel after updating to 2.0.0. Restored remote project import from a shareable project link or project ID. Fixed Bricks synchronization for empty c 2.0.1
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 2 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
7 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 "Build and manage a portable CSS framework and design system directly inside WordPress."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 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 Mentions Gutenberg, Bricks, Oxygen.
- ✓ Headings and lists 5 headings and 2 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 3,168 characters of description.
- ✓ 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
- 2025-02-15 9K+ → 10K+ up after 34 days in tier
- 2025-01-12 8K+ → 9K+ up after 50 days in tier
- 2024-11-23 7K+ → 8K+ up after 39 days in tier
- 2024-10-15 6K+ → 7K+ up after 42 days in tier
- 2024-09-03 5K+ → 6K+ up after 46 days in tier
- 2024-07-19 4K+ → 5K+ up after 53 days in tier
- 2024-05-27 3K+ → 4K+ up after 37 days in tier
- 2024-04-20 2K+ → 3K+ up after 22 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).
-
WP Add Custom CSS 60K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags B - C Custom CSS and JS 900+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
- S Styles: TwentyFifteen 100+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
- B Bootstrap 100+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags D
-
WP User Stylesheet Switcher 100+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D - C CSS Cache Buster 100+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Core Framework into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/core-framework" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Core Framework — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Core Framework: 10K+ active installs, 5.0★ (41 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/core-framework
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.