Custom Dashboard Help Widget
by Jo Landers · Admin & Utilities
Add a custom widget to the dashboard to display announcements, help or other information users will see at login.
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 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
800+
≈870 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: “customize”, “dashboard” and “user help” 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.
47 health vs 56 average across 5,895 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →6.2%
of downloads still active
At least 800 of 13K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,188 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 12+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.8.41, 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 4632 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.8.41; the current branch is 6.8
4.8★ over 6 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4632 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| customize your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| dashboard your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| user help your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “customize”, “dashboard” and “user help” 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 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 191 · 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
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
12.7y ago
latest release · v3.0 · 24 Feb 2014
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 “800+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 71% of the way through.
Install history since 18 Aug 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ trixee12.0y ago
Great plug-in, works very well! I just wish it would support having multiple widgets so I can have separate help sections.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Mike Davis12.0y ago
Easy to install. I have found it to be very helpful in keeping information collected in 1 place.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous12.1y ago
Found this plugin which did exactly what I needed, simply removing the standard wordpress dashboard boxes and adding in my own one for a members section of a new site. The standard, free plugin worked great, decided to buy the pro one for the few extra features. I had a slight issue in that I wanted some extra stuff that wasn’t in the plugin, so I emailed asking if it could be done and the help I received was second to none, was absolutely shocked at the response time and how much help was given. Especially for such a cheap plugin. Even if you only need the free version, consider donating, definitely well deserved! Otherwise, if you just need to add a custom dashboard info box, you won’t find a better or easier plugin than this!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Rian Rietveld12.3y ago
works perfectly, thanks
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Leopard-Lady13.6y ago
I can’t believe how hard it was to find this simple, yet much needed, functionality! What a time saver this is to clean up the dashboard for installs used as a CMS! This really should be built right into the WordPress core. Install is easy and Jo replied right away with the pro version as promised.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ TheDarkerHalf13.8y ago
I tried the premium version of this plugin and it has saved me more time than you can imagine. I was creating custom welcome pages and updates for each of my user roles for them to review before posting and it was becoming a hassle. This plugin allows me to place the messages I want up front, eliminate the need for other plugins to alter the admin page and reduce 4 other bloated plugins I was using before this one. Install was easy and Jo replied with the premium install package as promised. Well worth the price!
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
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
4 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Add a custom widget to the dashboard to display announcements, help or other information users will see at..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("great for"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 3 headings and 3 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,614 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 2 of 4 tags appear in the text; "customize", "user help" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-18 900+ → 800+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-07-15 800+ → 900+ up after 5 days in tier
- 2026-07-10 900+ → 800+ down after 365 days in tier
- 2025-07-10 1K+ → 900+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-07-09 900+ → 1K+ up after 9 days in tier
- 2025-06-30 1K+ → 900+ down after 1708 days in tier
- 2020-10-26 2K+ → 1K+ down
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).
- D Dashboard Notepad 10K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Dashboard Columns 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B -
Admin Customizer 1K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags D -
Admin Dashboard Last Edits 900+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Custom Dashboard Help Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/custom-dashboard-help" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Custom Dashboard Help Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Custom Dashboard Help Widget: 800+ active installs, 4.8★ (6 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/custom-dashboard-help
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.