HootKit is a great companion plugin for WordPress themes by wpHoot.
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Health
A 86/100
no flags
Active installs
8K+
≈8.5K estimated
Momentum
+8%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “companion plugin” to your wp.org tags. You rank #24 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.
86 health vs 62 average across 3,279 Media plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.0%
of downloads still active
At least 8K of 398.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Media plugin keeps 0.8%, across 2,317 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Media 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 8 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
Well tuned across the board
Updated 20 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.4★ over 22 reviews, smoothed to 4.19★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
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.
30
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.7
Velocity
places per keyword, 26d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 26d
-0.6
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| wphoot your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| companion plugin | #24 | #11 | 0 |
| demo content your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| slider your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widgets your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
10 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 2 listed. 8 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Add “companion plugin” to your wp.org tags. You rank #24 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 12.6K · 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.
8
releases in the last 12 months
3mo ago
latest release · v3.0.6 · 28 Jul 2026
8
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 70% 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 “8K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 22 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 20 Jul 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ geeorgegeorge10mo ago
excellect service
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ findfy3.6y ago
The template, plugin and support of wphoot.com are just the best. I am a beginer and they helped me more than i hoped for. Thanks guys, keep up the good work
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ paulie5624.1y ago
Problem solved in less than a day. AS USUAL! Honestly, I’ve never received this kind of support from a software company. WPHoot doesn’t brag about their outstanding support nearly as much as they should!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ hymerliv5.4y ago
Jasin is very helpful when I had problems with my site.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ nemacocy5.5y ago
Plugin updated and all the widgets within it vanished without warning, removing them from my site. Now I’ve got to find new widgets plugins and reconfigure everything…
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dgadoury5.8y ago
Top-notch capability and features come with this amazing plugin and associated themes.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous5.8y ago
I love the support that wpHoot gives to their customers.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ qdhd995.9y ago
and great service.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 3.0.6 Update demopacks manifest structure (allow $manifest[‘themename’] to have its own pack info while still having multidemos) Add bridge functions and classes for new themes with themename prefixes Update filter names for n 3.0.6
- — Version 3.0.5 Improve Import UX Add demopacks for Voltino theme 3.0.5
- — Version 3.0.4 Minor CSS and display fixes Updated new demopacks manifest for theme importer 3.0.4
- — Version 3.0.3 Support ‘widgets-v3’ files Move Post/Content Grid to v3 widgets – using css Grid Updated new demopacks manifest for theme importer Remove support for ‘post-grid-firstpost-category’ Standardize “style-” classes to “textst 3.0.3
- — Version 3.0.2 Support import of ‘_menu-item-hootmenu’ during menu import in XML (eg. contains menu item bg/font colors) Page Content widget Add options for Social Icons widget (accent bg and shape) Postcarousel widget – remove ‘hootki 3.0.2
- — Version 3.0.1 Widgets as Shortcode misc module Fix bug in Content Grid widget – First post as standard size ‘Open in new tab’ option for multiple widgets Postcarousel widget – allow ‘hootkit_carousel_titleascaption’ filter 3.0.1
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.9
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 3 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
2 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 Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 2 of 3 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 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 271 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 4 tags appear in the text ("demo content", "slider", "widgets" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-01-21 9K+ → 8K+ down after 203 days in tier
- 2024-07-02 10K+ → 9K+ down after 1657 days in tier
- 2019-12-19 9K+ → 10K+ up after 72 days in tier
- 2019-10-08 8K+ → 9K+ up after 80 days in tier
- 2019-07-20 6K+ → 8K+ up after 44 days in tier
- 2019-06-06 5K+ → 6K+ up after 59 days in tier
- 2019-04-08 4K+ → 5K+ 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).
-
SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
HT Slider For Elementor 20K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B -
Slide everything for Elementor 6K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags C - H Hoot Import 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B
-
VikWidgetsLoader – Collection of Widgets 1K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
One Click Demo Import 1M+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for HootKit into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/hootkit" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="HootKit — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> HootKit: 8K+ active installs, 4.4★ (22 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/hootkit
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