Custom Header Extended
by Justin Tadlock · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 35 other plugins · 30.8K+ installs across the portfolio →
Allows users to create a custom header on a per-post basis.
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 49/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
1K+
≈1.5K estimated
Momentum
+41%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: “admin”, “image” and “images” 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.
49 health vs 56 average across 5,902 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.6%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 62.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,194 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.
Removal-risk signals
51/100Maintenance 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.
- No tested-up-to version. The listing declares no "Tested up to" version.
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 3261 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
No "Tested up to" declared, treated as a major version behind
5.0★ over 12 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.3★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3261 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| admin your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| image your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| images your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| post your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 1 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
- “admin”, “image” and “images” 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 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 228 · 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
11.3y ago
latest release · v1.0.0 · 8 Jul 2015
3
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 98% 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 “1K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.3 years ago; the previous band took 22 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 1 Apr 2015
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
5 of 8 pass · checked 2 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Allows users to create a custom header on a per-post basis."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 16 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 15 of 16 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("if you need", "if you want").
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 5 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,369 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("admin", "images", "posts" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-07-24 2K+ → 1K+ down after 659 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 3K+ → 2K+ down after 790 days in tier
- 2020-08-05 4K+ → 3K+ down after 304 days in tier
- 2019-10-06 5K+ → 4K+ down after 309 days in tier
- 2018-12-01 6K+ → 5K+ down after 707 days in tier
- 2016-12-24 4K+ → 6K+ 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).
- W WP Admin UI Customize 30K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags C
-
SEO Friendly Images 10K+ installs · 3.2★ · 3 shared tags D - N Newpost Catch 9K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags A
-
Post Duplicator 200K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Responsive Lightbox & Gallery 100K+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags B -
All In One Favicon 60K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Custom Header Extended into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/custom-header-extended" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Custom Header Extended — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Custom Header Extended: 1K+ active installs, 5.0★ (12 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/custom-header-extended
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.