Pager Widget
by Paul Ryan · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 4 other plugins · 36.2K+ installs across the portfolio →
Prints "Parent | Previous | Next" links to navigate between pages at the same level in the page hierarchy (and up to the parent page).
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
B 80/100
Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈150 estimated
Momentum
+18%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “back”, “navigation” and “next” 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.
80 health vs 56 average across 5,895 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.2%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 8.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,187 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Admin & Utilities 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 165 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| pager your tag | #1 | #3 | 0 |
| back your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| navigation your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| next your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 1 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
- “back”, “navigation” and “next” 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 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 420 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ 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.
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.
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
6mo ago
latest release · v1.8.5 · 19 May 2026
9
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 “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3.8 years 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 27 May 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ nudnavda2.3y ago
I use this plugin for some years now: it’s impressively simple but equally useful – with the help of some added css for esthetics. I appreciate how useful it is for creating categorised pagination, so i’m very glad to see that you (developer) keep actualizing the source base. Big thanks for this! 🙏 This topic was modified 1 year, 12 months ago by nudnavda.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ timbobo7.7y ago
The story mode on this plugin makes it almost do what I needed it to do, which was page through an entire section of content with a title level, chapter level, and page level. I just don’t like that in this mode my very top level page still has a back button, which I had to work around. But this is easy to do with custom CSS on that particular page: /* hides the previous button on the first page */ #linksPrevNext a:first-child{ display: none; } /* hides the next button on the last page */ #linksPrevNext a:last-child{ display: none; } Having this as a widget is nice because you can decide exactly where you want it to appear. I am using “widgets on pages”, to just include it on pages where I want it to show up. It would be nice if you could still have a parent button in story-mode, but then just specify where you want that link to go. I recommend this plugin anyone trying to simply add some previous and next navigation to pages on your site. This plugin works well. This topic was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by timbobo. This topic was modified 7 years, 4 months ago by timbobo.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
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
1 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 Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ! 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 Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 420 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "back", "navigation" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2023-01-27 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2023-01-26 100+ → 200+ up after 114 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 200+ → 100+ 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).
-
Collapsing Categories 4K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B - E Expanding Archives 3K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A
-
WP Widget in Navigation 2K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags B -
Breadcrumb NavXT 800K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
WP-PageNavi 400K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Max Mega Menu 300K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Pager Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/pager-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Pager Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Pager Widget: 100+ active installs, 5.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/pager-widget
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