IvyCat AJAX Testimonials
by ivycat · Uncategorized
Also makes 3 other plugins · 10.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
Easily add rotating or static testimonials to your website. Testimonials can be categorized and rotated dynamically via AJAX or on page load.
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 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
200+
≈270 estimated
Momentum
-2%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “recommendation” for “firebug”. “recommendation” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “firebug” sits at #20 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
47 health vs 58 average across 25,763 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.0%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 20.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,773 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.
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 11+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.2.39, well behind 6.8.
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 4136 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.2.39; the current branch is 6.8
4.5★ over 16 reviews, smoothed to 4.20★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4136 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.
33
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
0.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 17d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 17d
0.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| testimony your tag | #11 | #2 | 0 |
| firebug | #20 | #12 | 0 |
| recommendation your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| reference your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| referral your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| testimonial your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
4 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 2 listed. 2 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
- Swap “recommendation” for “firebug”. “recommendation” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “firebug” sits at #20 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “testimony”. #11 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 140 · 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.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
11.3y ago
latest release · v1.5.1 · 7 Jul 2015
10
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 90% 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 4 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 68% of the way through.
Install history since 27 May 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ ellice90910.7y ago
Sometimes i have issues with a social sharing plug-in depending on the widget spot i drop this into, but overall it is a great plug-in. I love the ability to make dedicated testimonial pages for the post type.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous12.7y ago
Tons of strict PHP notices about static calls. Broke CSS in 3.8 admin Entry is too basic. Did not even care to check how it actually works.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ redkite12.7y ago
I’ve been using another very popular testimonials plugin but have been unhappy with the way it sets a fixed height based on the longest testimonial. IvyCat doesn’t do that, and is now my new go-to plugin for this purpose. Very nice, and I like the shortcodes.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous12.9y ago
I love it! I was looking at the popular ones (GC Testimonials & HMS Testimonials) and Ivycat AJAX Testimonials is by far the best for clear readme guide, and instantly doing what I need. I specially like that the html shows only the current testimonial being displayed – unlike GC testimonials which shows all 100 testimonials (or however many I have) in the html. With Ivycat, google sees only one testimonial, hence it’s a different page each time to googlebot.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Marlow13.2y ago
I tried 2 other testimonial plugins, and I prefer the lean, fast-loading IvyCat version without every bell and whistle that slows your site down. The rotation feature works great, and all testimonials can be easily styled via your own CSS. Documentation is also robust and easy to understand. My only recommendation is that the default shortcode and widget behavior be more consistent.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jimh27513.3y ago
Very easy to configure and good documentation. Does what it says and does it well.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ellelong13.4y ago
I sampled roughly 8-10 plug-ins…twice. Trying to find the most flexible yet usable testimonial rotator. In the end, this one was my first choice. I liked that the styling of the rotator is usable from the get go. It is simple enough to just put on a site, but I could adjust the look and feel pretty easily using CSS. It also runs pretty smoothly. I think it is the way it is loaded using ajax. The only feature missing (which it looks like NONE of the rotators have) is the ability to rotate multiple testimonies at once..like flashing 3, scrolling up or something. (That was one of my requirements but in the end they seemed ok with just the one flashing). Thanks for the taking the time to make a good plug-in!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kay913.5y ago
Just what I wanted. Tried a few others. This one is it!
Read on wp.org ↗
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 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Easily add rotating or static testimonials to your website. Testimonials can be categorized and rotated dyn..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 7 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 7 of 7 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("great for"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 3 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,780 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 5 tags appear in the text ("recommendation", "reference", "referral", "testimony" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-10 300+ → 200+ down after 10 days in tier
- 2026-06-30 200+ → 300+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-06-27 300+ → 200+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-06-25 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-06-24 300+ → 200+ down after 461 days in tier
- 2025-03-20 400+ → 300+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-03-19 300+ → 400+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-03-18 400+ → 300+ down after 1 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).
- C Clean Testimonials 400+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags D
-
Testimonial Block 500+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags B -
TC Testimonials 300+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags C -
Awesome Testimonials 40+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D -
MGS Recommend to a Friend — installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
Arashtad Testimonials Slider Plugin — installs · 3.7★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for IvyCat AJAX Testimonials into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/ivycat-ajax-testimonials" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="IvyCat AJAX Testimonials — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> IvyCat AJAX Testimonials: 200+ active installs, 4.5★ (16 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/ivycat-ajax-testimonials
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