Simple Website Banner
by Nick Tomkin · Uncategorized
Also makes 2 other plugins · 600+ installs across the portfolio →
This is a very simple plugin with a sole purpose of allowing you to inform your visitors of an upcoming event, updated store hours, or other important …
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
C 60/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
600+
≈670 estimated
Momentum
+18%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: One page off on “covid”. #12 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.1%
of downloads still active
At least 600 of 55.5K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,785 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.
Removal-risk signals
36/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Not actively maintained. No update in about 2 years.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 6.4.14.
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.
Room to improve
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 909 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.4.14; the current branch is 7.1
5.0★ over 8 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: Last updated 909 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.
49
Momentum
Holding steady
+0.4
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
42%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
+0.4
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| covid 19 your tag | #8 | #8 | up 1 |
| coronavirus your tag | #8 | #6 | 0 |
| covid your tag | #12 | #12 | up 1 |
| wordpress covid 19 | #6 | #7 | up 1 |
| banner your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| simple web your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
12 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 4 listed. 8 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- One page off on “covid”. #12 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- “banner” and “simple web” 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 · 1,492 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.1K · 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
2.5y ago
latest release · v1.8.0.4 · 9 May 2024
19
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 76% 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 “600+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 73% of the way through.
Install history since 30 Mar 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ tesorocreative2.7y ago
Simple and quick to use, especially if in need of a quick emergency banner. Just what I needed!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Transformations Program Australia5.0y ago
I used this plugin on a website for an old age home. As they have stricter covid protocols, the visual appearance and ease of use for website visitors were important to me. The plugin is an easy and simple but yet a welcome and powerful tool to quickly add a covid banner. Well done, guys!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jusanoworpro6.5y ago
Fast and Simple solution to my problem. My only suggestion is to stop the banner from showing on the page that I’ve specified the button to redirect to. I want it on every page, but not the one where I’m directing my users for more information.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous User6.5y ago
That’s a very useful feature. Just what the people need.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Gimboid6.6y ago
Straight forward and quick to implement, just what we need at this time.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Dale Mugford6.6y ago
Simple, elegant, WordPress-y… Get your urgent message across about COVID-19 (or anything else, for that matter).
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ lindsaykelly6.6y ago
Easy to get up and going in no time. As someone who has been inundated with requests to add COVID-19 response messages to many clients’ websites recently, this has been a huge time-saver. Love it!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Brian Hogg6.6y ago
As the description says this isn’t a plugin to compete with full-featured banner plugins. For quickly displaying a message related to what you’re doing with the COVID-19 response though, it does the job!
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 2 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (1.8.0.4). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 4.4 Corona Virus (COVID-19) Banner & Live Data <= 1.8.0.3 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2024-05-06 CVE-2024-34429 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.8.0.3 Patched in 1.8.0.4
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 6 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
2 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 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 179 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 0 of 5 tags appear in the text ("banner", "coronavirus", "covid", "covid-19", "simple web" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-29 700+ → 600+ down after 182 days in tier
- 2026-01-28 800+ → 700+ down after 186 days in tier
- 2025-07-26 900+ → 800+ down after 116 days in tier
- 2025-04-01 1K+ → 900+ down after 409 days in tier
- 2024-02-17 3K+ → 1K+ down after 642 days in tier
- 2022-05-16 5K+ → 3K+ down after 294 days in tier
- 2021-07-26 1K+ → 5K+ 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).
-
VirusWeather Covid-19 Coronavirus 30+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags D -
DR SARA COVID 10+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags B -
COVID-19 em Tempo Real 10+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D -
Corona Virus Live Ticker — installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
Corona Virus Data 1K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D -
COVID-19 Float Button 50+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Simple Website Banner into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/corona-virus-covid-19-banner" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Simple Website Banner — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Simple Website Banner: 600+ active installs, 5.0★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-04. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/corona-virus-covid-19-banner
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