HTTP Authentication
by Daniel Westermann-Clark · Uncategorized
Also makes 2 other plugins · 610+ installs across the portfolio →
Use an external authentication source in WordPress.
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 50/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
500+
≈600 estimated
Momentum
+50%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “authentication” isn't earning a slot. You list it, but you're not in the first 24 results for that search. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
50 health vs 58 average across 25,735 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.9%
of downloads still active
At least 500 of 53.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,764 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.
Removal-risk signals
28/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Not actively maintained. No update in about 2 years.
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 920 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.5.14; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 1 review, smoothed to 4.12★ and held back under 25 reviews
1 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 920 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| authentication your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “authentication” isn't earning a slot. You list it, but you're not in the first 24 results for that search. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 2.4K · 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
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
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
2.5y ago
latest release · v4.6 · 24 Apr 2024
26
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 82% 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 “500+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band today and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 600.
Install history since 14 May 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Paul Trafford8.6y ago
Installed HTTP Authentication in a couple of Multisite instances and configured it to use Stanford WebAuth. That was back in 2011. It was quite simple to set up and has been running reliably ever since. Now that WebAuth is EOL, am replacing with Shibboleth and this seems to work fine too. I would very much like to stick with this plugin, though as it hasn’t been updated for a while I need to consider alternatives.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.5.2
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 31 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 8 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 8 of 8 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 346 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 1 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-31 600+ → 500+ down after 59 days in tier
- 2026-09-02 500+ → 600+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-09-01 600+ → 500+ down after 69 days in tier
- 2026-06-24 500+ → 600+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-06-23 600+ → 500+ down after 14 days in tier
- 2026-06-09 500+ → 600+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-06-08 600+ → 500+ down after 527 days in tier
- 2024-12-28 700+ → 600+ down after 37 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).
- L Limit Login Attempts 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag C
-
WPS Limit Login 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Two Factor 100K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag B -
Google Authenticator 20K+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag A -
miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for HTTP Authentication into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/http-authentication" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="HTTP Authentication — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> HTTP Authentication: 500+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/http-authentication
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