Hester Core
by peregrinethemes · Page Builders
The official companion plugin for Peregrine Themes. Adds widgets, customization options, Elementor widgets, and demo import features.
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.
Install count doesn't reflect chosen adoption
10K+ installs but only 2 reviews: about 2.0 per 10,000 installs, where plugins people pick from the directory typically sit above 10. The install count also held flat for months and then climbed several tiers within weeks, the shape of a distribution change rather than organic adoption. Install bases built through bundling or preinstallation look like this. That is a legitimate way to ship software, but it means the install count says little about how many users chose this plugin.
Not a judgment of the plugin itself. We keep it off install-based leaderboards because the count isn't a popularity signal here.
Health
B 81/100
Few reviews
Active installs
10K+
≈19K estimated
Momentum
-7%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “core” to your wp.org tags. You rank #9 for it without listing it, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed it's a slot worth spending.
81 health vs 72 average across 1,890 Page Builders plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →6.8%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 146.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Page Builders plugin keeps 2.4%, across 1,263 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Page Builders 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 11 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 133 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
2.5★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.04★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 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.
35
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.5
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
12%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
-0.5
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| core | #9 | #24 | down 1 |
| canvas | #21 | #24 | down 1 |
| flip box | #24 | #24 | down 1 |
| wordpress core | #17 | #24 | down 1 |
| core plugin | #19 | #24 | 0 |
| core plugins | #20 | #24 | up 1 |
| demos your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| elementor your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widgets your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| woocommerce your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
19 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 6 listed. 13 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
- Add “core” to your wp.org tags. You rank #9 for it without listing it, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed it's a slot worth spending.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 22K · 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.
11
releases in the last 12 months
4mo ago
latest release · v1.1.9 · 20 Jun 2026
21
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 68% 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 2 years ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 4 Oct 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ sourcecode3477mo ago
The application welcome message appears on every page of the control panel, fix it, it’s annoying.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.1.9 Added SVG sanitizer library by https://github.com/darylldoyle/svg-sanitizer for sanitizing SVG images when uploaded. 1.1.9
- — Version 1.1.8 Fixed plugin version mismatch issue in SVN. 1.1.8
- — Version 1.1.7 Update blog and extra section settings for improved functionality and consistency. 1.1.7
- — Version 1.1.6 Tested up to WordPress 7.0 After switch theme clean cache. Support added for all themes by “Peregrine Themes”. Check authorization before allowing to export data. 1.1.6
- — Version 1.1.5 Added AJAX functionality for dismissing welcome notice. Added Hester Theme Library functionality for browsing and installing themes. Enhanced demo and theme libraries with HesterToast integration. 1.1.5
- — Version 1.1.4 . * Removed welcome banner notice image. * Improved Elementor widgets style. 1.1.4
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (1.1.9). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2026-06-26 CVE-2026-57656 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.1.8 Patched in 1.1.9
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 2 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
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 "The official companion plugin for Peregrine Themes. Adds widgets, customization options, Elementor widgets,..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce, Elementor, Gutenberg, Contact Form 7.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 3 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,466 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 4 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-10-21 9K+ → 10K+ up after 63 days in tier
- 2024-08-19 8K+ → 9K+ up after 37 days in tier
- 2024-07-13 7K+ → 8K+ up after 15 days in tier
- 2024-06-28 6K+ → 7K+ up after 13 days in tier
- 2024-06-15 5K+ → 6K+ up after 14 days in tier
- 2024-06-01 4K+ → 5K+ up after 17 days in tier
- 2024-05-15 3K+ → 4K+ up after 50 days in tier
- 2024-03-26 2K+ → 3K+ up after 45 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).
-
Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags B -
ShopLentor – All-in-One WooCommerce Growth & Store Enhancement Plugin 80K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
Hello Plus 70K+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags B -
Dynamic Visibility for Elementor 50K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
UiCore Elements – Free widgets and templates for Elementor 40K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
aThemes Starter Sites 30K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Hester Core into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/hester-core" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Hester Core — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Hester Core: 10K+ active installs, 2.5★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/hester-core
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