Easy Basic Authentication – Add basic auth to site or admin area
by Matteo Enna · Login & Users
Also makes 13 other plugins · 1.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
Secure your WordPress site with easy and effective basic authentication. Restrict access, monitor attempts, and enhance security.
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
A 85/100
Few reviews
Active installs
800+
≈800 estimated
Momentum
+45%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “access control”, “login” and “security” for “admin area”, “basic” and “area”. “access control” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “admin area” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “login” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “basic” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “security” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “area” sits at #10 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
85 health vs 61 average across 2,203 Login & Users plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →5.0%
of downloads still active
At least 800 of 15.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Login & Users plugin keeps 0.7%, across 1,476 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Login & Users 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 4 releases 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
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 32 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.15★ 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.
38
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
18%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+0.1
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| basic auth | #2 | #5 | 0 |
| admin area | #6 | #20 | down 1 |
| basic | #6 | #19 | down 1 |
| http basic auth | #3 | #15 | 0 |
| area | #10 | #23 | up 1 |
| auth | #13 | #23 | up 1 |
| secure auth key | #5 | #17 | 0 |
| authentication your tag | #15 | #23 | up 1 |
| basic plugin | #10 | #21 | up 1 |
| admin authentication | #12 | #24 | 0 |
| wordpress authentication | #19 | #24 | down 2 |
| new area | #21 | #24 | 0 |
| access control your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| login your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| security your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| wordpress security your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
33 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 12 listed. 21 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
- Swap “access control”, “login” and “security” for “admin area”, “basic” and “area”. “access control” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “admin area” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “login” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “basic” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “security” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “area” sits at #10 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “authentication”. #15 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 1 Oct 2023 · 1,127 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.4K · 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
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
4
releases in the last 12 months
1mo ago
latest release · v4.2.0 · 29 Sep 2026
51
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. 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 “800+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just over 800.
At the current install trend, crossing 900+ in roughly 487 days.
Install history since 30 Sep 2023
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ ziordia681.0y ago
I found it easy to implement, and works perfectly. With it, I do not need those really big security plugins, just combine it with other small plugins like 2fa.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Nguyen Minh Hung2.1y ago
Works perfectly and doesn’t require complicated configuration. Thank you for creating this plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ James Joseph Finn2.4y ago
Ciao from an Italian-American. The plugin works flawlessly. Thank you for publishing it. One question: After configuring the plugin, I was expecting to find a .htpasswd file in the root directory; but apparently the plugin sets Basic Auth in a manner different than the one I’m familiar with. I’m no backend dev, but I always love to learn. I’m wondering how this works under the hood to implement Apache Basic Auth. Thank you again, paisano.
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 8 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
5 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 "Secure your WordPress site with easy and effective basic authentication. Restrict access, monitor attempts,..."
- ! 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", "if you need").
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 5 headings and 2 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 5,231 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "access-control", "wordpress security" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-27 700+ → 800+ up after 103 days in tier
- 2026-07-16 600+ → 700+ up after 22 days in tier
- 2026-06-24 700+ → 600+ down after 64 days in tier
- 2026-04-21 600+ → 700+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-04-19 700+ → 600+ down after 12 days in tier
- 2026-04-07 600+ → 700+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-04-06 700+ → 600+ down after 14 days in tier
- 2026-03-23 600+ → 700+ up after 4 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).
- L Limit Login Attempts 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 3 shared tags C
-
WPS Limit Login 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags A -
Google Authenticator 20K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags A -
SP Move Login 6K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags B -
Loginizer 1M+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Easy Basic Authentication – Add basic auth to site or admin area into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/easy-basic-authentication" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Easy Basic Authentication – Add basic auth to site or admin area — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Easy Basic Authentication – Add basic auth to site or admin area: 800+ active installs, 5.0★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/easy-basic-authentication
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