Serious Slider

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

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.

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.

150 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 114 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.

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

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 34% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Crossed into this band 2.5 years ago; the previous band took 2.7 years to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.

1. ★★★★★ mayerka

   4.6y ago

   Everything ok!

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ Bambero

   4.8y ago

   It’s what I was looking for since cyclone slider. Simple, functional and free.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ sparky672

   5.4y ago

   WARNING: If your site or theme depends on the jQuery Bootstrap library, this plugin might not work correctly. There is no workaround. I could only get this plugin to work correctly by disabling Bootstrap’s JavaScript file. However, disabling this Bootstrap file breaks my theme. I like this plugin for its ease of use and features but it is literally impossible to get working correctly with my site using the Hestia theme. Response per Serious Slider developer: Our Serious Slider plugin is Bootstrap-based so it includes the needed Bootstrap styling and JavaScript to make it work. We tried to make it self-contained so that it doesn’t expand its styling and code on anything else in the content that may also be using Bootstrap (and its classnames/IDs), however it is not possible to protect for the reverse situation without completely rewriting the Bootstrap identifiers. As such, the slider may be interfered with or malfunction completely if something else on the site use Bootstrap too and applies its styling/code too generally. Since BootStrap is such a widely used component, it would have spared me tons of wasted time if the developer had mentioned the potential for this huge conflict somewhere on their WordPress repository page. As a result of the conflict, I was forced to remove this plugin. I ended up using a plugin called Slide Anything, which seems to work very well without conflicting with Bootstrap or other popular components.

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ geldner

   6.0y ago

   Each photo requires a slide. Each slide is more like a full WordPress post. There is no simple way to tag a bunch of photos and have them appear in the slider. Not intuitive or fast. Sorry guys, love your Fluida template but the slider is a fail.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ Mobile PC Rescue

   7.9y ago

   This is a simple to use Slide Maker, you can add HTML Links and buttons – the transitions are quite limited compared to others I have seen. The biggest issue we have is no matter which options we select the images still change sizes even if “constrain” is on – so the height of the slider jumps up and down, moving the text up and down the page, it looks horrible, especially on your homepage; the only way we have found to fix this is to manually crop all images for the slideshow which doubles our workload and image uploads which then makes this inefficient. If the sizes could be fixed it would be worth 5 stars

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ SoldierOfFortune

   8.0y ago

   I added new slide using ‘Add New Slider’ link under ‘All Slides’, then configured it. When I click ‘All Slides’ I see one slide in the list. But! when I click ‘Manage Sliders’ link there is no added slider! Just empty list in the right side! Then I added another slide in ‘Manage Slides’. Ok, I have one slide I just added. But when I go to ‘All Slides’ page there are two slides! Old one and the new slide! How it could be?! When I try to add widget in my page it shows nothing! Unfortunately I have no time to hussle it and I deleted this plugin. I use Page Builder.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ cgxperts

   8.7y ago

   After exploring many sliders, I found this is the most efficient slider in both creation and promotion. Thanks a lot for the developers of this plugin. Great work.

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ azlivin008

   9.6y ago

   Just as advertised! Easy to use, comes with a sample slideshow for reference and several out of the box nice looking templates. Use normal WP editor to add text and links to slides. Only reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5-star rating is that I don’t care for the shadow on the navigation arrows when hovering over the pictures, and the coding could use a little fine tuning for a better view on portrait view on smaller devices. Otherwise, a first-rate product.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 1.4.0 Release date – 2026.07.05 Added block functionality with slides preview and options control The slider block can be customized with local options separate from the slider’s set options Full control of all the slider opti 1.4.0
2. — Version 1.3.2 Release date – 2026.06.10 Fixed indicators navigation not working since 1.3.0 (due to over-sanitization) Reworked sanitization for sliders styling and scripting to better meet Plugin Check (PCP) validation Add support fo 1.3.2
3. — Version 1.3.1 Release date – 2026.04.03 Fixed slides buttons missing in 1.3.0 due to a typo Fixed broken ‘slide’ transition animation in 1.3.0 due to over-sanitized styling Fixed slider styling not being instance-specific and last sty 1.3.1
4. — Version 1.3.0 Release date – 2026.03.12 Fixed insufficient permissions check in slide image handling code allowing users with at least subscriber level access to delete images from slider – reported by Legion Hunter to patchstack.com 1.3.0
5. — Version 1.2.7 Release date – 2024.11.16 Fixed insufficient sanitization on shortcode parameters to address an XSS vulnerability that could be exploited by a malicious user with at least contributor level access – reported by Bob from 1.2.7
6. — Version 1.2.6 Release date – 2024.10.24 Fixed over-sanitization of ‘base font size’ value filtering out float numeric values Fixed PHP 8.3 deprecation warnings: ‘creation of dynamic property’ and ‘using ${var} in strings, use {$var} i 1.2.6

All 5 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (1.4.2). Sites still on an older version should update.

1. Patched Medium · 6.4 Serious Slider <= 1.4.0 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'theme' Shortcode Attribute ↗
   2026-08-15 CVE-2026-15726 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.4.0 Patched in 1.4.1
2. Patched Medium · 4.3 Serious Slider <= 1.2.7 - Missing Authorization ↗
   2026-01-30 CVE-2026-25399 Missing Authorization Affects <= 1.2.7 Patched in 1.3.0
3. Patched Medium · 6.4 Serious Slider <= 1.2.6 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcode ↗
   2024-11-29 CVE-2024-11108 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.2.6 Patched in 1.2.7
4. Patched Medium · 4.4 Serious Slider <= 1.2.4 - Authenticated (Editor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗
   2024-06-17 CVE-2024-35762 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.2.4 Patched in 1.2.5
5. Patched Medium · 4.3 Serious Slider <= 1.2.4 - Cross-Site Request Forgery ↗
   2024-04-25 CVE-2024-33650 Cross-Site Request Forgery Affects <= 1.2.4 Patched in 1.2.5

Translated into 6 languages, 2 at 90% or more

Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2024-05-11 30K+ → 20K+ down after 998 days in tier
2. 2021-08-17 20K+ → 30K+ up after 1265 days in tier
3. 2018-03-01 10K+ → 20K+ 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).

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Serious Slider into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Serious Slider: 20K+ active installs, 3.4★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/cryout-serious-slider