Display Categories Widget
by iteamweb · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 3 other plugins · 3K+ installs across the portfolio →
Display Categories Widget will display Child categories on your sidebar. Can be placed on widget in sidebar.
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 50/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
3K+
≈3.7K estimated
Momentum
+16%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “categories”, “hide categories” and “list categories” 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.
50 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.4%
of downloads still active
At least 3K of 87.1K 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 6+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.2.30, 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 2554 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.2.30; the current branch is 6.8
4.8★ over 25 reviews, smoothed to 4.33★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2554 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| hide categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| list categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| select categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “categories”, “hide categories” and “list categories” 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 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.8K · 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.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 86% 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 “3K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago; the previous band took 13 months to cross, which places it about 67% of the way through.
Install history since 24 Sep 2015
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 3.1 Fixed warning for php 5.6 (Ternary operator updated) – Fixed: PHP Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ‘?’ 3.1
- — Version 3.0 Added default values to not initialized variables to avoid notes poping up in wp backend Fixed deprecation warning for php 7.3 (create_function is deprecated) 3.0
- — Version 2.2 Enable/disable display of category description Code formatting Removed Deprecated Constructor Method – Thanks https://github.com/frozzare Added sorting option by name, id, post count 2.2
- — Version 2.1.0 Ability to use more than 1 widget on same page with different parent categories Code formatting 2.1.0
- — Version 2.0.2 Bug fixes Added a label for dropdown non-selection case 2.0.2
- — Version 2.0.1 Removed deprecated WP_Widget 2.0.1
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 24 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Display Categories Widget will display Child categories on your sidebar. Can be placed on widget in sidebar."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 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 Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 3 headings and 1 list.
- ! Enough to quote 823 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "list categories", "select categories" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-06-27 4K+ → 3K+ down after 383 days in tier
- 2025-06-09 5K+ → 4K+ down after 331 days in tier
- 2024-07-13 6K+ → 5K+ down after 303 days in tier
- 2023-09-14 7K+ → 6K+ down after 180 days in tier
- 2023-03-18 8K+ → 7K+ down after 256 days in tier
- 2022-07-05 9K+ → 8K+ down after 322 days in tier
- 2021-08-17 10K+ → 9K+ down after 756 days in tier
- 2019-07-23 5K+ → 10K+ up after 1207 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).
-
Flexible Posts Widget 7K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags D -
Collapsing Categories 4K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B - R Recent Posts by Category Widget 4K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Colorful Categories 2K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags B -
Categorized Tag Cloud 1K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B -
JS Categories List Widget 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Display Categories Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/display-categories-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Display Categories Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Display Categories Widget: 3K+ active installs, 4.8★ (25 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/display-categories-widget
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