DobsonDev Shortcodes
by DobsonDev · Uncategorized
Also makes 1 other plugin · 110+ installs across the portfolio →
Add a collection of helpful shortcodes to your site.
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 48/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews · Open vulnerability
Active installs
100+
≈150 estimated
Momentum
+17%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “github gists”, “pdf” and “portable document format” 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.
48 health vs 58 average across 25,755 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.6%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 17.8K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,772 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.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance 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.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.4.25.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 4 reviews to 2018-03-21The handful of reviews here are all five stars, with people saying it did exactly what they needed and calling the developer responsive, though the newest one dates back to 2018.
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 2371 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.4.25; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 2 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 2371 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.
33
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
0.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 9d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 9d
0.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| dobsondev your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| github gists your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| pdf your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| portable document format your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| shortcodes your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
3 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 2 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “github gists”, “pdf” and “portable document format” 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 123 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ 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 1 Nov 2026.
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
6.5y ago
latest release · v2.1.12 · 5 May 2020
38
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 “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.5 years ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 5 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ valaparthvi8.6y ago
Just the thing I was looking for!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Dangthrimble11.6y ago
Not just a good plugin but a responsive developer to boot. What’s not to like!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ DobsonDev12.0y ago
I made the plugin – so I definitely think its awesome!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ levisan12.6y ago
I downloaded this plugin to display PDFs inline. Works like a charm!
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence Intelligence1 open vulnerability affects the current version (2.1.12). 0 of 1 disclosed are patched.
- Open Medium · 6.4 DobsonDev Shortcodes <= 2.1.12 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-04-01 CVE-2025-31754 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.1.12 No patch available
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.
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 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Add a collection of helpful shortcodes to your site."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("if you want", "great for", "use this").
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter and 1 more.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 16,460 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "portable document format" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-04-17 200+ → 100+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2024-04-15 100+ → 200+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2024-04-11 200+ → 100+ down after 23 days in tier
- 2024-03-19 100+ → 200+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2024-03-17 200+ → 100+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2024-03-15 100+ → 200+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-14 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-13 100+ → 200+ up after 2 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).
-
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Column Shortcodes 60K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag D -
Gravity PDF 20K+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag B -
PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page 20K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for DobsonDev Shortcodes into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/dobsondev-shortcodes" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="DobsonDev Shortcodes — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> DobsonDev Shortcodes: 100+ active installs, 5.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/dobsondev-shortcodes
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