Customize Private & Protected: Password Form & Prefix
by kirkclarke · Forms
Remove or change the "Protected:" and "Private:" title prefix. Customize the password form text, button, colors and widgets. Block themes too.
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 84/100
Few reviews
Active installs
400+
≈430 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: Swap “post title” and “password form” for “protected” and “customize”. “post title” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “protected” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “password form” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “customize” sits at #12 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
84 health vs 65 average across 2,509 Forms plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →6.8%
of downloads still active
At least 400 of 5.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Forms plugin keeps 1.2%, across 1,668 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Forms 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 5 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
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 17 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.7★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
40
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
21%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.1
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| prefix your tag | #3 | #17 | up 15 |
| protected | #5 | #17 | up 6 |
| password protected your tag | #6 | #18 | up 1 |
| remove protected | #3 | #16 | 0 |
| private your tag | #11 | #20 | up 12 |
| customize | #12 | #22 | up 1 |
| password protected posts | #6 | #21 | up 1 |
| protected site | #7 | #20 | up 1 |
| password protected content | #7 | #20 | 0 |
| password form your tag | #20 | #24 | 0 |
| password protected pages | #8 | #20 | 0 |
| remove private | #8 | #21 | down 2 |
| private post | #10 | #19 | down 1 |
| protected page | #11 | #20 | 0 |
| remove title | #13 | #21 | 0 |
| private site | #14 | #21 | up 1 |
| private page | #16 | #22 | 0 |
| custom prefix | #16 | #23 | 0 |
| customize form | #21 | #23 | down 1 |
| customize page | #24 | #24 | — |
| post title your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
50 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 30 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “post title” and “password form” for “protected” and “customize”. “post title” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “protected” sits at #5 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “password form” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “customize” sits at #12 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “private”. #11 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 703 · 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
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
5
releases in the last 12 months
1mo ago
latest release · v1.6.0 · 28 Sep 2026
17
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. 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; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 31% of the way through.
At the current install trend, crossing 500+ in roughly 127 days.
Install history since 4 Oct 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Eli3.3y ago
I tried different codes to accomplish some of what this plugin does, and I was unsuccessful. Seems that most recent methods to do this no longer work, however this plugin allowed me to hide the “Private” prefix on private pages and posts. Haven’t tested the other features it offers yet, but the main purpose I intended to do with it just works. Recommended.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ aksuska3.6y ago
Did not originally work at all for me at first install (v1.1.1) but clearing cookies & cache got it working. The “live update” behavior of the settings UI is frustrating when editing text entry when the password entry form is displayed as it reloads and moves focus to the password entry field in the middle of typing. This topic was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by aksuska. Reason: Able to resolve problem
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Juliane3.8y ago
I was getting quite puzzled trying to add functions in my functions.php files to remove the prefixes of my protected and private pages and posts. Then I found this plugin. It’s perfect! Two clicks and I achieved what I was trying to do for 3 days.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8.3
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 1 language, 0 at 90% or more
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 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Remove or change the "Protected:" and "Private:" title prefix. Customize the password form text, button, co..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 8 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 8 of 8 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 Divi.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,437 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "post title" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-10 300+ → 400+ up after 244 days in tier
- 2025-11-08 200+ → 300+ up after 492 days in tier
- 2024-07-04 100+ → 200+ up after 43 days in tier
- 2024-05-22 200+ → 100+ down after 14 days in tier
- 2024-05-08 100+ → 200+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2024-05-04 200+ → 100+ down after 18 days in tier
- 2024-04-16 100+ → 200+ up after 367 days in tier
- 2023-04-15 90+ → 100+ up after 18 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).
-
ACW Custom Messages for Password Protected Pages 30+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags - B Better Protected Password Pages 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
Title Remover 70K+ installs · 3.9★ · 1 shared tag D -
underConstruction 40K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag C -
Force Login 30K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Brozzme DB Prefix & Tools Addons 9K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Customize Private & Protected: Password Form & Prefix into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/customize-private-protected" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Customize Private & Protected: Password Form & Prefix — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Customize Private & Protected: Password Form & Prefix: 400+ active installs, 4.7★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/customize-private-protected
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