Per Page Sidebars
by Brian Layman · Uncategorized
Also makes 5 other plugins · 2.9K+ installs across the portfolio →
The Per Page Sidebars (PPS) plugin allows blog administrators to create a unique sidebar for each Page. No template editing is required.
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 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
900+
≈950 estimated
Momentum
+25%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “pages”, “posts” and “sidebars” 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.
45 health vs 58 average across 25,736 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.3%
of downloads still active
At least 900 of 68.9K 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 4.9.35, 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 3153 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.9.35; the current branch is 6.8
4.2★ over 10 reviews, smoothed to 4.12★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3153 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| pages your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| sidebars your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widgets your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “pages”, “posts” and “sidebars” 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 195 · 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.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 99% 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 “900+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 6 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 27 May 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ programmerdancuk10.8y ago
This plugin is exactly what I want
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ perryb11.1y ago
This is a really useful plug in. The one thing I really would like to have at my disposal from the off would be the ability to edit the widget title (e.g. “PPS-page-slug” makes it slightly less user friendly in my view) and perhaps a note in Widget admin to say which widget is being replaced. Great stuff though!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dmnelson12.8y ago
I run a site for a large organization, with a child theme based on Thematic. I use the main menu for site-wide navigation. Then I use Per Page Sidebars to put department-specific custom menus in Primary Aside. Very handy in conjunction with plugins that let you limit who can edit which pages and menus, such as Role Scoper or Press Permit.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ochado13.3y ago
This was just what I was looking for. It lets me give each individual page (or post!) its customized sidebar. Thatnks for creating the plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ slurm2313.4y ago
Very useful plugin for more complex websites. Works well with WP pages, but would be much more useful if it could utilize custom post types as well. I haven’t disabled it yet, but it definitely shouldn’t wipe clean the previously configured widgets. Especially with text widgets utilizing JS or PHP this could lead to losing a lot of work. Please fix if this issue is replicable!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Mystech13.6y ago
Works like a charm… until you deactivate it. Upon turning it back on all custom sidebars were wiped clean. 🙁
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ohenrik13.7y ago
However it would be great if you could make this work on custom post types too. 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ oneltd13.9y ago
Would be great if author could in fact add proper custom post type support!
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
4 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "The Per Page Sidebars (PPS) plugin allows blog administrators to create a unique sidebar for each Page. No..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 5 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 5 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 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 984 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 4 tags appear in the text; "posts" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-04-23 1K+ → 900+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-04-22 900+ → 1K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-04-21 1K+ → 900+ down after 1138 days in tier
- 2023-03-10 2K+ → 1K+ down after 570 days in tier
- 2021-08-17 3K+ → 2K+ down after 378 days in tier
- 2020-08-04 4K+ → 3K+ down after 498 days in tier
- 2019-03-25 8K+ → 4K+ 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).
-
Essential Widgets 10K+ installs · 3.8★ · 3 shared tags B - W WooSidebars 100K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags C
-
Display Posts – Easy lists, grids, navigation, and more 70K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags C -
Widgets on Pages 20K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags C -
Simple Page Sidebars 20K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags C -
Posts in Page 10K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Per Page Sidebars into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/per-page-sidebars" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Per Page Sidebars — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Per Page Sidebars: 900+ active installs, 4.2★ (10 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/per-page-sidebars
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