Parent Category Toggler
by Ben Lobaugh (blobaugh) · Uncategorized
Also makes 15 other plugins · 11K+ installs across the portfolio →
Automatically toggle the parent categories when a sub category is selected.
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 49/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
10K+
≈19K estimated
Momentum
+50%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “category”, “parent” and “toggle” 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.
49 health vs 58 average across 25,736 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →12%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 86.3K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,764 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 8+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.8.34, 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 3259 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.8.34; the current branch is 6.8
4.8★ over 15 reviews, smoothed to 4.26★ and held back under 25 reviews
3 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3259 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| parent your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| toggle your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “category”, “parent” and “toggle” 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 1.3K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
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
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
8.9y ago
latest release · v1.3.4 · 28 Nov 2017
6
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 “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 8 years ago; the previous band took 21 months to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 2 Sep 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ daro20135.5y ago
The plugin works as it says. I have a suggestion: can you add a functionality so that when users UNCHECK a parent category, all its child categories are UNCHECKED automatically?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Aram Ghazaryan6.6y ago
Thank you very much it works perfectly ~
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ clk878.6y ago
Does exactly what it says. Thank you
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ certainlyakey8.8y ago
A native-like experience.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ GDY9.5y ago
… it also unchecks the parent category if you uncheck a child even if there are other childs of that parent that are still checked. This seems like a bug to me. This topic was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by GDY.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Radhe10.3y ago
Does exactly what it says
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Dave Chimny10.7y ago
Some actions on my posts are triggered with use the parent categories (if in_category() …). I forgot to set the parent category so many times, but that’s over now… 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous10.9y ago
Helps keep our users/authors in line. Does exactly what it needs to do by highlighting the parent category when selecting a child. Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
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
2 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 Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 1 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Installation Instructions").
- ! 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 7 headings and 7 lists.
- ! Enough to quote 551 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 3 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2018-11-17 9K+ → 10K+ up after 628 days in tier
- 2017-02-27 6K+ → 9K+ up after 540 days in tier
- 2015-09-06 5K+ → 6K+ 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).
- T Taxonomy Tree Toggler 90+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags
- R Remove Parents 100+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
- C Category Parent Children Selector 100+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Pages with category and tag 50K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
Search & Filter 40K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Parent Category Toggler into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/parent-category-toggler" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Parent Category Toggler — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Parent Category Toggler: 10K+ active installs, 4.8★ (15 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/parent-category-toggler
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