Open Search Document
by Matthias Pfefferle · Search
Also makes 8 other plugins · 3.2K+ installs across the portfolio →
Lets browsers search your site straight from the address bar.
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
A 86/100
Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈260 estimated
Momentum
+23%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “browser” and “search” for “address bar” and “open”. “browser” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “address bar” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “search” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “open” sits at #17 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
86 health vs 63 average across 979 Search plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.7%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 12.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Search plugin keeps 0.7%, across 645 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.
This plugin shipped 2 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 41 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
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: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
39
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 26d
21%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 26d
-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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| autodiscovery your tag | #1 | #1 | — |
| opensearch your tag | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| document | #12 | #18 | 0 |
| open | #17 | #20 | down 1 |
| address bar | #16 | #20 | 0 |
| address search | #16 | #19 | — |
| search suggestions | #19 | #22 | 0 |
| open web | #22 | #22 | down 1 |
| browser your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| suggestions your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
31 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 8 listed. 23 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “browser” and “search” for “address bar” and “open”. “browser” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “address bar” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “search” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “open” sits at #17 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 343 · 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 21 Oct 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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
2
releases in the last 12 months
1mo ago
latest release · v4.2.0 · 20 Sep 2026
22
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. 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 13 months ago; the previous band took 2.5 years to cross, which places it about 58% of the way through.
Install history since 20 Aug 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Marc Bernard6.6y ago
Thanks for this nifty plugin! Perfect! You might want to add some documentation since it’s very hidden how it works. 1) After activating the plugin, a <link rel=”search”> tag is added to the header of your webpages. 2) This link points to https://domain.com/wp-json/opensearch/1.1/document and produces an XML document. 3) This document.osdx contains the OpenSearch specification for your website. 4) An additional use case, is downloading this file to your Windows machine. Then you can double-click it to install a search connector to Windows. This lets you search your own website directly from your Windows and Explorer search bars. Just type the first letters of your website name to get it going! Best, Marc
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Saleswonder Team: Tobias8.8y ago
Maybe an gif animation for the visitors which is linked to a desccription howto use would be nice. i would like to translate to german.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ok2vvv8.8y ago
Plugin works exactly as it should. I was looking for a plugin that activates on the web in google chrome search using the TAB key. Thanks a lot.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ rinma9.5y ago
This plugin is easy to use. Install it and it works 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.7.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 2 languages, 0 at 90% or more
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
6 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Lets browsers search your site straight from the address bar."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 7 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 6 of 7 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you have"); 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 2 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,732 characters of description.
- ✓ 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
- 2025-10-13 300+ → 200+ down after 917 days in tier
- 2023-04-10 200+ → 300+ up after 19 days in tier
- 2023-03-22 300+ → 200+ down after 76 days in tier
- 2023-01-05 200+ → 300+ up after 93 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 100+ → 200+ up after 1645 days in tier
- 2018-04-03 80+ → 100+ up after 668 days in tier
- 2016-06-04 70+ → 80+ 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).
-
Search Regex 100K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Inline Related Posts 100K+ installs · 4.3★ · 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 -
String locator 100K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Open Search Document into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/open-search-document" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Open Search Document — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Open Search Document: 200+ active installs, 5.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/open-search-document
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.