Dashboard Widget Sidebar
by Morten Dalgaard Johansen · Admin & Utilities
Enable regulare widgets to be used as Dashboard Widgets in admin.
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 51/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews · Open vulnerability
Active installs
300+
≈400 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: “admin”, “dashboard” and “dashboard widget” 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.
51 health vs 56 average across 5,897 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.2%
of downloads still active
At least 300 of 13.6K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,189 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 11+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.2.39, 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 4212 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.2.39; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 8 reviews, smoothed to 4.22★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4212 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 | ||
| dashboard your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| dashboard widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widgets your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “admin”, “dashboard” and “dashboard widget” 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 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 136 · 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
11.5y ago
latest release · v1.2.3 · 21 Apr 2015
9
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 “300+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 400.
Install history since 22 Mar 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Stagger Lee10.6y ago
I did not know something like this was possible. Will stop adding dashboard widgets via custom code. Not that it is difficult, but not easy to keep track of all code, where, how, and why.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ eduardoalfaro10.7y ago
Works perfect!!!… also you can combine with others plug-ins like PHP so you can create a custom intranet for your customers!!! Thank you so muuuucchhhhhhhhh ;-D
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ John10.9y ago
Great, simple and extremely useful plugin for sites dealing with subscribers! Many thanks for your work and I really hope you’ll keep updating this little gem..
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ rileyadamvoth11.4y ago
This plugin is incredible. Simple to use and perfect in functionality. Exactly what I needed for my multi-author blog I run so that the author can have a one stop spot for everything they need to know. Thanks for building this!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Julie12.0y ago
This is a very useful plugin! It offers an easy way to add all kinds of content to the Dashboard. Many thanks to the author for this great plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ cycas12.3y ago
Effective plugin using the built-in tools to control dashboard. A clever approach. Current version does throw an ugly php warning into your dashboard if you enable it but don’t add any dashboard widgets, but this vanishes as soon as you add a dashboard widget.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ theatereleven12.4y ago
This plugin worked perfectly for my needs. Feature request? The ability to add more than one widget area to the dashboard. Thanks for the plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Mike Price12.7y ago
Wow, you dont know how long I have been searching for this exact same functionality! I was floored when I found this plugin by accident when browsing. This sames me so much brainstorming on how to do a few things I wanted to do in the Dashboard that I knew was only possible via Widgets. Thank you for such an awesome plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence Intelligence1 open vulnerability affects the current version (1.2.3). 0 of 1 disclosed are patched.
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 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
2 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Enable regulare widgets to be used as Dashboard Widgets in admin."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 241 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-29 400+ → 300+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-10-27 300+ → 400+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-10-26 400+ → 300+ down after 414 days in tier
- 2025-09-07 500+ → 400+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2025-09-01 400+ → 500+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-08-30 500+ → 400+ down after 221 days in tier
- 2025-01-21 600+ → 500+ down after 98 days in tier
- 2024-10-15 700+ → 600+ down after 1 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).
- S SpiceBox 20K+ installs · 3.9★ · 3 shared tags B
-
Widget Disable 10K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A -
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Blocksy Companion 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
White Label CMS 200K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Widget Context 30K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Dashboard Widget Sidebar into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/dashboard-widget-sidebar" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Dashboard Widget Sidebar — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Dashboard Widget Sidebar: 300+ active installs, 5.0★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/dashboard-widget-sidebar
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