Footnotes Made Easy
by Patrick Lumumba · Uncategorized
Also makes 3 other plugins · 2.2K+ installs across the portfolio →
Allows post authors to easily add and manage footnotes in posts and pages.
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 89/100
no flags
Active installs
2K+
≈2.5K estimated
Momentum
+8%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “formatting” for “doi”. “formatting” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #22. “doi” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
89 health vs 58 average across 25,737 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.1%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 64.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above 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 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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Support resolution
Updated 77 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.6★ over 40 reviews, smoothed to 4.32★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
0 of 2 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Mark more forum threads resolved — the resolved ratio feeds the ranking.
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
-0.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
23%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.4
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| footnotes your tag | #3 | #3 | 0 |
| reference your tag | #4 | #4 | down 1 |
| footnote | #3 | #3 | 0 |
| citations your tag | #6 | #3 | down 1 |
| nextpage | #4 | #4 | down 1 |
| bibliography your tag | #6 | #2 | 0 |
| doi | #4 | #4 | up 1 |
| wp footnotes | #3 | #3 | up 1 |
| academic | #7 | #8 | down 1 |
| film | #8 | #4 | 0 |
| isbn | #9 | #6 | 0 |
| cite | #10 | #5 | up 1 |
| grey | #10 | #6 | 0 |
| citation | #10 | #4 | up 1 |
| journal | #11 | #7 | down 1 |
| formatting your tag | #22 | #20 | down 6 |
| newspaper | #14 | #10 | 0 |
| korean | #20 | #15 | down 2 |
42 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 18 listed. 24 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Swap “formatting” for “doi”. “formatting” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #22. “doi” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- Slipping on “formatting”. Down 6 places since 2026-09-19, now #22. Check what shipped around then, and what moved above you.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 8.2K · 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
3mo ago
latest release · v3.2.2 · 15 Aug 2026
17
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 57% 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 “2K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 24 months 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 28 May 2019
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 3.2.2 Fixed: The footnotes header and footer text could not be translated on multilingual sites Issue #53 . Fixed: Minor UI fixes 3.2.2
- — Version 3.2.1 Fixed: Duplicate footnote text appearing at the bottom of the page when Pretty Tooltips was enabled. #51 Fixed: Footnote font size appeared too large on themes that don’t load the block library stylesheet. #52 3.2.1
- — Version 3.2.0 New: Fully redesigned admin UI with a dedicated top-level Footnotes menu (Dashboard, Footnotes Settings, Tools, and so much more) New: Dashboard page with live plugin usage statistics — footnote counts across all posts a 3.2.0
- — Version 3.1.0 Compatibility: WordPress 6.9 compatibility test passed 3.1.0
- — Version 3.0.9 Fix: Footnotes header now correctly appears before the list (not inside it) . Fix: Restored ‘footnote-link’ CSS class for backward compatibility with custom CSS. 3.0.9
- — Version 3.0.8 CRITICAL SECURITY FIX: CVE-2025-11733 — Fixed unauthenticated stored XSS vulnerability (CVSS 7.2) Security: Complete security overhaul with 5-layer protection Security: Proper authentication, CSRF protection, input sanit 3.0.8
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (3.2.2). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2025-11-03 CVE-2025-11733 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 3.0.7 Patched in 3.0.8
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 12 languages, 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
7 of 8 pass · checked 26 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Allows post authors to easily add and manage footnotes in posts and pages."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 10 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 10 of 10 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 Mentions Gutenberg, Block editor, Multisite.
- ✓ Headings and lists 7 headings and 5 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 4,543 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "bibliography", "formatting" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-11-16 3K+ → 2K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-11-15 2K+ → 3K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-11-14 3K+ → 2K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-11-13 2K+ → 3K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-11-12 3K+ → 2K+ down after 23 days in tier
- 2024-10-20 2K+ → 3K+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2024-10-18 3K+ → 2K+ down after 40 days in tier
- 2024-09-08 2K+ → 3K+ up after 170 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).
-
CM Footnotes – Boost your content’s credibility with footnotes, citations, and bibliography 100+ installs · 4.0★ · 4 shared tags B -
Footnotes & Content 100+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags A -
Icon Footnote — installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
Modern Footnotes 6K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
Blank Footnotes 300+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Citations 200+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Footnotes Made Easy into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/footnotes-made-easy" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Footnotes Made Easy — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Footnotes Made Easy: 2K+ active installs, 4.6★ (40 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/footnotes-made-easy
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