Faceted Search
by AndrewUlrich · Search
This plugin will create widgets that you can use to conduct faceted searches using the categories or tags on 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 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
20+
≈28 estimated
Momentum
-84%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: “categories”, “search” and “tags” 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.
45 health vs 63 average across 980 Search plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.1%
of downloads still active
At least 20 of 13.8K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Search plugin keeps 0.7%, across 647 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Search 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 14+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.3.2, well behind 7.1.
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 5279 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.3.2; the current branch is 7.1
4.3★ over 3 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.1★ and held back under 25 reviews
3 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 5279 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 | ||
| search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| tags your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “categories”, “search” and “tags” 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 6 Oct 2022 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 141 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #25,400 to #28,300, alongside the other plugins at 20+ 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.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
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 “20+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago and the previous band took 12 months to cross, so the real count is still just under 30.
Install history since 6 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ mtraps10.6y ago
I have this plugin combined with a search bar plugin. Every time I do a search using my categories it pulls up all the right results but in the search bar the words “Faceted Search” appear. Any idea how to remove this?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Carbo Queen12.5y ago
Thank you very much for this plugin. I had feared I had to modify it because I didn’t want an all inclusive or all exclusive search, but finally the “smart search” was exactly what I was looking for. Only two drawbacks : – in the CSS file there are not a lot of options that you can custom; – every time you add a new category you have to order everything again.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ F l a n k e r13.8y ago
It need to be CSS customized, but it works very well for my web site!
Read on wp.org ↗
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.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "This plugin will create widgets that you can use to conduct faceted searches using the categories or tags o..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 7 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 6 of 7 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 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 946 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 3 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-13 30+ → 20+ down after 366 days in tier
- 2025-08-12 40+ → 30+ down after 285 days in tier
- 2024-10-31 50+ → 40+ down after 138 days in tier
- 2024-06-15 60+ → 50+ down after 280 days in tier
- 2023-09-09 70+ → 60+ down after 216 days in tier
- 2023-02-05 80+ → 70+ down after 123 days in tier
- 2022-10-05 100+ → 80+ down after 586 days in tier
- 2021-02-26 400+ → 100+ down
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).
-
Media Library Assistant 70K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A - P Post Tags and Categories for Pages 20K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags B
- V Visual Term Description Editor 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags C
-
Essential Widgets 10K+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags B -
Flexible Posts Widget 7K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags D -
SEO Auto Linker 3K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Faceted Search into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/faceted-search" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Faceted Search — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Faceted Search: 20+ active installs, 4.3★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/faceted-search
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