Custom Search by BestWebSoft – WordPress Custom Search Plugin
by bestwebsoft · Search
Also makes 17 other plugins · 204.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
Add advanced custom search to your WordPress site. Search custom post types, taxonomies, and custom fields with full control over results.
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
B 79/100
no flags
Active installs
900+
≈990 estimated
Momentum
+14%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “custom search wordpress”, “search custom post type wordpress plugin” and “wordpress custom search form” for “bestwebsoft”, “custom search” and “search plugin”. “custom search wordpress” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “bestwebsoft” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “search custom post type wordpress plugin” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “custom search” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “wordpress custom search form” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “search plugin” sits at #18 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
79 health vs 63 average across 978 Search plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.9%
of downloads still active
At least 900 of 105.4K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Search plugin keeps 0.7%, across 645 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Search plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 2 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 215 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.9.11, the current branch or newer
3.9★ over 29 reviews, smoothed to 4.03★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
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.
31
Momentum
Losing ground
-1.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
6%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.8
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| custom search | #15 | #22 | 0 |
| bestwebsoft | #15 | #16 | 0 |
| custom search bar elementor your tag | #17 | #19 | down 2 |
| search plugin | #18 | #22 | down 1 |
| job search | #19 | #18 | up 2 |
| real estate search | #21 | #14 | down 5 |
| custom taxonomies search | #18 | #21 | — |
| custom search wordpress your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| search custom post type wordpress plugin your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| wordpress custom search form your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| wordpress search custom fields your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
20 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 7 listed. 13 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “custom search wordpress”, “search custom post type wordpress plugin” and “wordpress custom search form” for “bestwebsoft”, “custom search” and “search plugin”. “custom search wordpress” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “bestwebsoft” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “search custom post type wordpress plugin” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “custom search” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “wordpress custom search form” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “search plugin” sits at #18 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 923 · 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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
2
releases in the last 12 months
7mo ago
latest release · v1.52 · 30 Mar 2026
51
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 36% 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 “900+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago and the previous band took 5.8 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 1K.
Install history since 16 Oct 2015
Reviewer account pattern
from wp.org reviewer profiles15 of the last 20 four- and five-star reviews came from accounts created within a month of posting the review.
Registering a wp.org account just to leave a review is common and often entirely legitimate. The share here is unusually high for the sample, so it's worth keeping in mind while reading the reviews.
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ delphineous4.7y ago
Allows me to enable searching the custom fields in Easy Digital Downloads. Now it is easier to find my products by sku and other custom data.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ misticx7.4y ago
Almost no options at all in a free version, bad explained.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ aptharsia8.5y ago
I don’t know why the new version (from the old discontinued plugin) is so much slower. It would also be nice to have an option on excluding excerpts and only search titles along with the custom fields. This topic was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by aptharsia. This topic was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by aptharsia. Reason: more info
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Moshje10.9y ago
“This plugin allows searching by custom post types on your website.” Nope. That’s a PRO feature.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ matiwati11.0y ago
dobry
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ flukesh11.1y ago
If you’re using this for anything where you need a development, staging, and live environments, forget it. They go to such great lengths to validate your license and then break the plugin, it’s rendering it essentially useless for me even though I bought three separate licenses for all my environments. If they would release a version without this licensing issue and rely a bit more on the decency of people to buy a valid license, maybe I would stay a user.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ GRV11.4y ago
Does exactly what I needed it to do.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ wp-newbee11.6y ago
Thank you, even works with other search plugin 🙂 Nice!
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (1.52). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2017-04-12 CVE-2017-18494 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.35 Patched in 1.36
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.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 133 languages, 2 at 90% or more
Plus 109 more locales with partial translations.
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
6 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 "Add advanced custom search to your WordPress site. Search custom post types, taxonomies, and custom fields..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 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 Mentions Elementor, Gutenberg.
- ✓ Headings and lists 5 headings and 6 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,881 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 0 of 5 tags appear in the text ("custom search bar elementor", "custom search wordpress", "search custom post type wordpress plugin", "wordpress custom search form", "wordpress search custom fields" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-06-30 1K+ → 900+ down after 2127 days in tier
- 2020-09-02 2K+ → 1K+ down after 1615 days in tier
- 2016-04-01 3K+ → 2K+ 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).
-
Better Search Replace 1M+ installs · 4.3★ A -
Search Regex 100K+ installs · 4.6★ A -
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ installs · 4.7★ A -
String locator 100K+ installs · 4.6★ A -
Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ installs · 4.9★ A -
Go Live Update Urls 90K+ installs · 4.4★ A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Custom Search by BestWebSoft – WordPress Custom Search Plugin into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/custom-search-plugin" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Custom Search by BestWebSoft – WordPress Custom Search Plugin — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Custom Search by BestWebSoft – WordPress Custom Search Plugin: 900+ active installs, 3.9★ (29 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/custom-search-plugin
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