CIO Custom Fields Importer
by VisualData · Content & Feeds
Also makes 3 other plugins · 470+ installs across the portfolio →
Simple, easy, fast and flexible, this add-on to WP All Import processes large data sets from any XML or CSV files to any contents.
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 48/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
400+
≈480 estimated
Momentum
n/a
no downloads in the prior 30 days to compare with
Biggest opportunity: “comments import”, “high performance” and “taxonomy import” 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.
48 health vs 64 average across 1,202 Content & Feeds plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.3%
of downloads still active
At least 400 of 17.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Content & Feeds plugin keeps 0.8%, across 867 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Content & Feeds 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 8+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.35, well behind 7.1.
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 3234 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.9.35; 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 3234 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| comments import your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| high performance your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| taxonomy import your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| user import your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| woocommerce customer import your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
3 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 3 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “comments import”, “high performance” and “taxonomy import” 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 · 1,491 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 153 · 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
8.9y ago
latest release · v1.0.3 · 26 Dec 2017
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 “400+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago and the previous band took 16 months to cross, so the real count is still just under 500.
Install history since 23 Aug 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ abuzon7.4y ago
I was nervous that this plugin wasn’t still supported because of the warning that it hasn’t been updated/tested. Saw there was a paid version and contacted the company – they got back to me right away – “The plugin is still supported. The premium plugin is being used by some developers and agencies, and has just been updated to be compatible with the latest version of WP All Import (free and premium versions). The free version uses a few WordPress core functions, and does not need frequent updating” Makes sense! Anyway, I use Beaver Themer and Pods and recently bought WP All-Import and Export with allllll the goodies. Just used this plugin and imported a CSV file for custom post types made w/ PODS, w/ custom taxonomies too, and everything worked perfectly. THANKS!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ conciseac7.7y ago
The lead developer couldn’t have been more helpful. Plugin works perfectly and the developer spent time to help me with a few questions I had. 5/5 Plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mmagnani9.2y ago
Helped me a lot importing hundreds of Pods CPT with simple fields. Great addition to WP All Import, great plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ alexanderdean9.3y ago
CIO Custom Field Importer is a very easy way to import data into your PODS custom post types. This plugin saves me loads of time! The first time I used it, I was able to get over 10000 records into my PODS custom post types in less than an hour. A few months later, I used it to import users which I had extended with PODS. The plugin can import to any data type that has been extended with PODS, which in my case meant that I didn’t even have to buy an additional WP All Import Add-on. Very satisfied!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Evil Overlord10.3y ago
I’ve been trying to import to Pods post types, and tried many plugins. All Import looked best, but didn’t work with Pods. I finally found this, and it does exactly what I needed it to.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Martin Sauter10.3y ago
WP All Import Pro is a great plug-in for data import, and Pods is a great plug-in for Custom Post Types. But without CIO Custom Fields Importer you wouldn’t be able to import CSV data into your Pods. So this is an essential plug-in for the WordPress community, and it did the job in my case without any problem. Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jason Boisture11.2y ago
We needed to import a data feed into our Pods advanced content type (ACT) tables. We tried the existing Pods import functions, but ran into trouble when we needed to update existing records. We were also running a separate cron job on the server to automate the import. And then we found the CIO Custom Fields Importer for Pods. The pro version allows us to import ACT data and lets us update existing records. Together with the WP All Import pro plugin, we can do high-volume imports (CSV, XML or Excel) and schedule the job to run when we want (eliminating our need for the separate cron job). We can even grab data from a URL and adjust how WP All Import iterates through the data to ensure the server doesn’t timeout during an import. Although we had to purchase the pro versions of both plugins, it was well worth it for us because the entire import process is now automated with these two plugins.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Woodcock0211.2y ago
5stars is NOT enough. Wonderful piece of software, makes the whole process of uploading a database file so easy, if it fails for a duplicate, it is easy to see and identify the problem. It takes a few seconds to setup and you get the feeling that you are being taken painlessly through a difficult process. Seamless integration, problem free, clear concise and accurate tutorials make the whole process simple. Thoroughly and highly recommended, the best plugin – ever ! Support from the developers is great too – if you have a problem or a question. Well done guys ! Check them out http://vipp.com.au/cio-custom-fields-importer/ Thanks for great software Colin
Read on wp.org ↗
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
7 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Simple, easy, fast and flexible, this add-on to WP All Import processes large data sets from any XML or CSV..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 9 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 8 of 9 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("designed for", "use it").
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce.
- ✓ Headings and lists 3 headings and 7 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 9,908 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 5 tags appear in the text ("comments import", "taxonomy import", "user import", "WooCommerce customer import" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-10 500+ → 400+ down after 484 days in tier
- 2025-03-13 600+ → 500+ down after 29 days in tier
- 2025-02-12 500+ → 600+ up after 23 days in tier
- 2025-01-20 600+ → 500+ down after 337 days in tier
- 2024-02-18 700+ → 600+ down after 399 days in tier
- 2023-01-15 800+ → 700+ down after 1547 days in tier
- 2018-10-21 700+ → 800+ up after 184 days in tier
- 2018-04-20 600+ → 700+ up after 128 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).
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for CIO Custom Fields Importer into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/custom-fields-csv-xml-importer" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="CIO Custom Fields Importer — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> CIO Custom Fields Importer: 400+ active installs, 5.0★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/custom-fields-csv-xml-importer
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.