Display Environment Type
by Stoil Dobreff · Uncategorized
Displays WordPress 5.5's environment type setting in the admin bar and the "At a Glance" dashboard widget.
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 73/100
Few reviews
Active installs
1K+
≈1.9K estimated
Momentum
+51%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “development” and “staging” for “type” and “display”. “development” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “type” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “staging” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “display” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
73 health vs 58 average across 25,737 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.6%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 181K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,770 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized 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 1 release 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
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 4 reviews to 2025-04-09Reviewers like how small and self-explanatory it is, with no settings to configure, and say the admin bar indicator stops them editing the wrong site.
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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 316 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.9.11, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ 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.
29
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.9
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.6
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| dtap your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| environment your tag | #3 | #15 | 0 |
| development environment | #3 | #13 | down 1 |
| staging environment | #6 | #16 | 0 |
| production your tag | #19 | #23 | down 2 |
| type | #23 | #19 | down 3 |
| display | #24 | #22 | down 3 |
| display id | #17 | #21 | down 3 |
| development your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| staging your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
13 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 8 listed. 5 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “development” and “staging” for “type” and “display”. “development” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “type” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “staging” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “display” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 10.7K · 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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
11mo ago
latest release · v1.6.0 · 19 Dec 2025
16
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 77% 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 “1K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3.9 years ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 2 Sep 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ ericsackett1.6y ago
Easy to see reminder of which version of the site I’m on.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ drinkmaker2.8y ago
Five stars for Display Environment Type! Huge thanks to the author for creating this gem. The plugin might be small, but it’s incredibly useful, doing exactly what you’d expect without any unnecessary clutter. No settings hassle – just install and get to work seamlessly.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Bjarne Oldrup4.5y ago
I switch a LOT between production sites and a clone made for testing, when creating a real staging environment is not possible. More than once, I have unintentionally made changes to the wrong instance of the site. That’s no fun. Display Environment Type makes it very clear what I’m working on, when I should pay extra attention. Recommended.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Bego Mario Garde6.2y ago
Have you ever accidentally added test content to a productive website? You can now define a constant in your wp-config.php to distinguish between development, staging and productuion sites. To make this visible, this lean but helpful plugin adds an indicator to the admin bar and dashboard widget which helps to avoid mistakes as adding “Lorem ipsum” to your productive site. 🙂 Plugin works like a charm. No settings needed. Install, activate and feel happy.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 16 languages, 1 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
4 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Displays WordPress 5.5's environment type setting in the admin bar and the "At a Glance" dashboard widget."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 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 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 753 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "dtap" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2022-12-07 900+ → 1K+ up after 10 days in tier
- 2022-11-27 1K+ → 900+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2022-11-26 900+ → 1K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2022-11-25 1K+ → 900+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2022-11-23 900+ → 1K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2022-11-22 1K+ → 900+ down after 7 days in tier
- 2022-11-15 900+ → 1K+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2022-11-13 1K+ → 900+ 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).
-
365i Environment Indicator 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 4 shared tags -
Environment & Debug Bar 30+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags B -
PLX Multi-Environments 20+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
EnvBeacon — installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags - T The Permalinker 100+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags C
- A Apex Digital Toolbox 60+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Display Environment Type into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/display-environment-type" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Display Environment Type — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Display Environment Type: 1K+ active installs, 5.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/display-environment-type
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