Moon Phases
by philippe · Uncategorized
Also makes 9 other plugins · 940+ installs across the portfolio →
Adds a sidebar widget that display the current moon phase.
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+
≈350 estimated
Momentum
+17%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “astrology” and “moon” for “moon phase” and “moon phases”. “astrology” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “moon phase” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “moon” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “moon phases” sits at #24 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 25,755 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.5%
of downloads still active
At least 300 of 19.5K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,772 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 12+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.7.41, 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 4648 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.7.41; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4648 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.
30
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.9
Velocity
places per keyword, 11d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 11d
-0.3
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| astronomy your tag | #21 | #9 | 0 |
| moon phases | #24 | #12 | 0 |
| moon phase | #24 | #12 | 0 |
| astrology your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| moon your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| phase your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| phases your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
9 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 3 listed. 6 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 “astrology” and “moon” for “moon phase” and “moon phases”. “astrology” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “moon phase” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “moon” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “moon phases” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- Under-ranked on “astronomy”. wp.org puts you #21; on merit you place #9. The plugins above you are winning on install count, not on rating or upkeep.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 128 · 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.
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
12.7y ago
latest release · v3.1.1 · 9 Feb 2014
8
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
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 7 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 19 Aug 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ areyna8.3y ago
Tested on version 4.9.8–es_ES o wordpress without issues. Probado en la versión 4.9.8–es_ES de WordPress. This topic was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by areyna.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Number_68.6y ago
Just like the old days, this simple great plugin works as it used to.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ spar30310.7y ago
Thank you Joe for this plugin, I love that it was simple to use and gave me exactly what I needed with no annoyances, it was actually hard to find a good moon phase plugin. Thanks Joe!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ elizabeth11.1y ago
I like this plugin. I don’t know why I like to know the phase of the moon, but I do. I haven’t used the plugin for long enough to know if it’s accurate, but time will tell. I wish I knew where the plugin pulls it’s data from. I don’t care for the link included with the plugin, but with a little CSS, it can be removed. I hope that’s OK with the author, because if not, I’ll have to disable the plugin.
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
4 of 8 pass · checked 30 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Adds a sidebar widget that display the current moon phase."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you want"); 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 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 968 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "astrology", "astronomy" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-03-28 400+ → 300+ down after 247 days in tier
- 2025-07-24 500+ → 400+ down after 240 days in tier
- 2024-11-26 600+ → 500+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-11-25 500+ → 600+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-11-24 600+ → 500+ down after 168 days in tier
- 2024-06-09 700+ → 600+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-06-08 600+ → 700+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-06-07 700+ → 600+ down after 162 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).
-
WP Moon Phase Widget 200+ installs · 3.9★ · 3 shared tags D -
The Moon – Current Phase and Next Eclipse 100+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D -
Celestial Lunar Phase Widget 50+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B - M Moon Phase Widget 10+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Arianne G Esotools 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
EZ Horoscope Professional 300+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Moon Phases into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/moon-phases" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Moon Phases — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Moon Phases: 300+ active installs, 5.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/moon-phases
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