LH Wayback Machine
by shawfactor · Uncategorized
Also makes 99 other plugins · 11.8K+ installs across the portfolio →
Automatically creates Wayback Machine snapshots of site, including archives
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 · Few reviews
Active installs
300+
≈380 estimated
Momentum
-23%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: Swap “archive” for “wayback machine”. “archive” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “wayback machine” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Install conversion
How it's measured →4.7%
of downloads still active
At least 300 of 6.3K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,781 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 6+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.5.24, 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 2208 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.5.24; the current branch is 7.1
5.0★ over 5 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.2★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2208 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| wayback your tag | #23 | #8 | down 5 |
| wayback machine | #23 | #8 | down 5 |
| archive your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| content your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| machine your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| post 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 “archive” for “wayback machine”. “archive” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “wayback machine” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- Slipping on “wayback”. Down 5 places since 2026-10-08, now #23. Check what shipped around then, and what moved above you.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 193 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #10,100 to #11,100, alongside the other plugins at 300+ 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.
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 “300+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 400.
Install history since 1 Dec 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ novakpeter4.4y ago
All URLs are archived, it works.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ KZeni6.1y ago
This plugin does a great job to help make sure a site is more likely to be archived and that the archive is more complete at web.archive.org than just letting the Wayback Machine passively crawl & archive the web. It helps make sure changes are also archived as updates are made for a more thorough history of a site as well. Setup & implementation is very quick & easy to use. As this plugin is more likely to ask more of archive.org’s Wayback Machine effort, I do suggest highlighting the option to donate to Archive.org via donate link (in addition to the donation for support of the plugin itself; but the plugin couldn’t exist without the service’s ongoing support.) This topic was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by Jan Dembowski. Reason: Links removed, don't put those in reviews that is not allowed
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ AlfonsoAB6.4y ago
When you are in the urgent need of something you’ve lost of sight, it’s always in the last pocket. The Internet Archive is this last and lifesaver pocket.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ multiformeingegno6.4y ago
I was looking for something like this. It just works! Would be amazing to also be able to save monthly/yearly archives
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Ken Gagne6.6y ago
I’m a huge fan of the Internet Archive, the Wayback Machine, and WordPress. This plugin is essential for anyone interested in integrating those tools and preserving those sites. I love that it shows if a post or page is queued to be archived, if it already has, and a link to the last snapshot. Worst case scenario, if you don’t have other backups of your site, these snapshots can be used to rebuild your site in the event of a catastrophe. 😱 The only three caveats I need to remember: The plugin captures individual posts, but not the homepage, so I submitted the root domain to the Wayback Machine separately; There is no way to exclude posts or pages, even if that content is excluded from other search engines or sitemaps (such as by using NOINDEX); and I need to deactivate it on my staging/development site, lest the wrong URL be submitted to the Wayback Machine! This topic was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Ken Gagne. This topic was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Ken Gagne. Reason: Adding a bullet point to caveats This topic was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Jan Dembowski. Reason: Deleted link in review
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.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 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 "Automatically creates Wayback Machine snapshots of site, including archives"
- ✓ Has a FAQ 6 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 6 of 6 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 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 989 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-07 400+ → 300+ down after 329 days in tier
- 2025-09-12 500+ → 400+ down after 286 days in tier
- 2024-11-30 600+ → 500+ down after 262 days in tier
- 2024-03-13 700+ → 600+ down after 207 days in tier
- 2023-08-19 800+ → 700+ down after 141 days in tier
- 2023-03-31 700+ → 800+ up after 158 days in tier
- 2022-10-24 600+ → 700+ 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).
- A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A
-
Archivarix External Images Importer 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags B -
Stealth Publish 900+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags D - W WP-UTF8-Excerpt 700+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Preserve Code Formatting 400+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for LH Wayback Machine into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/lh-wayback-machine" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="LH Wayback Machine — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> LH Wayback Machine: 300+ active installs, 5.0★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/lh-wayback-machine
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