Essential Widgets
by Catch Themes · Uncategorized
Also makes 12 other plugins · 153.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
Essential Widgets is a WordPress plugin for widgets that allows you to create and add amazing widgets with high customization option
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 82/100
Few reviews
Active installs
10K+
≈15K estimated
Momentum
+9%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “categories” for “draw”. “categories” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “draw” sits at #20 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
82 health vs 58 average across 25,735 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.9%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 523K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,765 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 6 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 135 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
3.5★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.08★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
1 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
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.
39
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
20%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| essential widgets | #2 | #17 | 0 |
| essential | #3 | #19 | 0 |
| widgets your tag | #11 | #24 | down 2 |
| glotpress | #8 | #18 | down 1 |
| draw | #20 | #24 | up 1 |
| pages on widgets | #13 | #24 | down 1 |
| free widgets | #13 | #24 | up 1 |
| wordpress widgets | #18 | #24 | 0 |
| widgets in page | #20 | #24 | 0 |
| custom widgets | #21 | #24 | 0 |
| post widgets | #21 | #24 | down 3 |
| widgets in post | #23 | #24 | 0 |
| categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| pages your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| tags your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
48 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 12 listed. 36 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 “categories” for “draw”. “categories” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “draw” sits at #20 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 “widgets”. #11 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 19.2K · 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.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
6
releases in the last 12 months
5mo ago
latest release · v3.2.1 · 18 Jun 2026
29
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 23% 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 “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 23 months ago; the previous band took 2.5 years to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 27 Sep 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ KJA4U5.7y ago
A lot of useful widgets but in the paid version. The free one is limited. This topic was modified 5 years, 5 months ago by KJA4U.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ adminmaw6.2y ago
Excellent
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 3.2.1 Bug Fixed: prefix issue in get_meta_keys function Bug Fixed: defined check for plugin version 3.2.1
- — Version 3.2 Bug Fixed: Pages widget no longer triggers a fatal error when adding it from the Widgets screen or Customizer Bug Fixed: Settings link on the Plugins page no longer appears on unrelated plugins Bug Fixed: Tags widget’s c 3.2
- — Version 3.1 Bug Fixed: PHP fatal error in Tags block — undefined variable used as callable Bug Fixed: Posts widget href attribute missing quotes around URL (invalid HTML) Bug Fixed: Scripts now correctly load in the footer across ad 3.1
- — Version 3.0.1 Bug Fixed: Cross-site Scripting (Reported by Muhammad Yudha – DJ) 3.0.1
- — Version 3.0 Bug Fixed: Mismatched text domain Bug Fixed: Missing $domain parameter in function Bug Fixed: missing_direct_file_access_protection Bug Fixed: Processing form data without nonce verification Bug Fixed: WordPress.WP.Alter 3.0
- — Version 2.3 Bug Fixed: Cross-Site Scripting via the title parameter in widget shortcodes (Reported by Mdr https://patchstack.com) 2.3
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 3 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (3.2.1). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 6.4 Essential Widgets <= 3.0 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Multiple Shortcodes ↗2026-02-04 CVE-2026-0867 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 3.0 Patched in 3.0.1
- Patched Medium · 6.4 Essential Widgets <= 2.2.2 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-11-26 CVE-2025-67543 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.2.2 Patched in 2.3
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.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 1 language, 0 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
3 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 "Essential Widgets is a WordPress plugin for widgets that allows you to create and add amazing widgets with..."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! 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 3,072 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-12-25 20K+ → 10K+ down after 911 days in tier
- 2022-06-28 30K+ → 20K+ down after 82 days in tier
- 2022-04-07 20K+ → 30K+ up
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★ · 4 shared tags D -
SEO Auto Linker 3K+ installs · 4.1★ · 4 shared tags C - P Post Tags and Categories for Pages 20K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags B
- P Page Tagger 2K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
-
List category posts 80K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Display Posts – Easy lists, grids, navigation, and more 70K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Essential Widgets into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/essential-widgets" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Essential Widgets — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Essential Widgets: 10K+ active installs, 3.5★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/essential-widgets
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