Development Environment Notification
by Alex Phelps · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 1 other plugin · 20+ installs across the portfolio →
This plugin adds a simple notification on the WP Admin bar to help the developer know if they are looking at development or production.
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 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
10+
≈16 estimated
Momentum
-35%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “admin bar” and “development” 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 →0.5%
of downloads still active
At least 10 of 2.2K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,187 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 3.9.40, well behind 6.8.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 1 reviews to 2014-05-09The one review here is happy, saying it keeps them from getting confused about which environment they're in.
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 4095 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.9.40; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 1 review, smoothed to 4.12★ and held back under 25 reviews
3 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4095 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 bar your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| development your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| development tools your tag | Not checked yet | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “admin bar” and “development” 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 141 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #30,100 to #45,000, alongside the other plugins at 10+ 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.
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
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 “10+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Modeled within the band wp.org reports; tightens as we track daily.
Install history since 4 Oct 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ nattyait12.5y ago
I don’t have to confuse myself where I am now!!
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.4
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 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "This plugin adds a simple notification on the WP Admin bar to help the developer know if they are looking a..."
- ! 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 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 266 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 2 of 3 tags appear in the text; "development tools" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
No tier crossings observed yet.
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 What Template 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Apermo AdminBar 60+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D -
Admin Bar Tools 10+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D -
DevStage 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags - T Toolbar Plugins Link 10+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
- M Matty Theme QuickSwitch 10+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Development Environment Notification into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/development-environment-notification" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Development Environment Notification — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Development Environment Notification: 10+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/development-environment-notification
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