Developer Mode
by Jesper van Engelen · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 7 other plugins · 1.7K+ installs across the portfolio →
Limit access to the WordPress admin panel for your clients. Block functionality like updating plugins and viewing menu items for administrators, while …
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Health
D 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈280 estimated
Momentum
+38%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “admin”, “client” and “developer” 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.
45 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.4%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 14.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,186 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 13+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.5.2, 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 4864 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.5.2; the current branch is 6.8
4.3★ over 8 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4864 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 | ||
| client your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| developer your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| developer mode your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| hide menu 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”, “client” and “developer” 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 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 103 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #11,300 to #12,900, alongside the other plugins at 200+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
13.3y ago
latest release · v0.4.1.3 · 7 Jul 2013
11
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 “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago and the previous band took 13 months to cross, so the real count is still just under 300.
Install history since 5 Apr 2016
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
5 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Limit access to the WordPress admin panel for your clients. Block functionality like updating plugins and v..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you have"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Advanced Custom Fields.
- ✓ Headings and lists 3 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,951 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "hide menu" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-07 300+ → 200+ down after 398 days in tier
- 2025-07-05 400+ → 300+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-07-04 300+ → 400+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-07-03 400+ → 300+ down after 215 days in tier
- 2024-11-30 500+ → 400+ down after 36 days in tier
- 2024-10-25 600+ → 500+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2024-10-23 500+ → 600+ up after 7 days in tier
- 2024-10-16 600+ → 500+ 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).
-
Simple Client Dashboard 2K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Simply Show Hooks 1K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Loginizer 1M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Redux Framework 900K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A -
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
White Label CMS 200K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Developer Mode into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/developer-mode" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Developer Mode — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Developer Mode: 200+ active installs, 4.3★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/developer-mode
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