Improved user search in backend
by Blackbam · Search
Also makes 4 other plugins · 210+ installs across the portfolio →
Improves the search for users in the backend significantly: Search for first name, last, email and more of users instead of only nicename.
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
C 55/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈250 estimated
Momentum
+13%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: “backend”, “search” and “user” 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.
55 health vs 63 average across 980 Search plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.3%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 15.3K lifetime downloads are still running, above 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 12+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.9.40, 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 4476 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.9.40; the current branch is 7.1
5.0★ over 5 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.2★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4476 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| backend your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| user your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| user search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “backend”, “search” and “user” 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 5 Oct 2022 · 1,491 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 127 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #11,300 to #12,900, alongside the other plugins at 200+ 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.
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.
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 “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 15 months ago; the previous band took 15 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 18 Sep 2015
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (1.2.6). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 6.1 Improved User Search in Backend <= 1.2.5 - Cross-Site Request Forgery to Cross-Site Scripting ↗2014-08-13 CVE-2014-5196 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.2.5 Patched in 1.2.6
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.
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
5 of 8 pass · checked 3 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Improves the search for users in the backend significantly: Search for first name, last, email and more of..."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Multisite.
- ✓ Headings and lists 10 headings and 5 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,333 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 4 tags appear in the text; "user search" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-08-20 300+ → 200+ down after 445 days in tier
- 2024-06-01 400+ → 300+ down after 364 days in tier
- 2023-06-03 500+ → 400+ down after 242 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 600+ → 500+ down after 256 days in tier
- 2022-01-21 800+ → 600+ down after 365 days in tier
- 2021-01-21 1K+ → 800+ down after 954 days in tier
- 2018-06-12 2K+ → 1K+ down after 100 days in tier
- 2018-03-04 3K+ → 2K+ 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).
- B Better User Search 600+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags D
-
Admin Menus Accessibility – Quickly Search Admin Menus 100+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D -
User Role Editor 700K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
Search Regex 100K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Search & Replace 100K+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Improved user search in backend into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/improved-user-search-in-backend" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Improved user search in backend — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Improved user search in backend: 200+ active installs, 5.0★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/improved-user-search-in-backend
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