PHP Code Widget
by Samuel Wood (Otto) · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 9 other plugins · 127.5K+ installs across the portfolio →
Like the Text widget, but also allows working PHP code to be inserted.
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 50/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
70K+
≈78K estimated
Momentum
+25%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “php” and “widget” 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.
50 health vs 56 average across 5,896 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →7.0%
of downloads still active
At least 70K of 1M 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.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance 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 4+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.9.20.
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.
Room to improve
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 1676 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.9.20; the current branch is 6.8
4.7★ over 61 reviews, smoothed to 4.43★
3 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 1676 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| execphp your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| php 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). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “php” and “widget” 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 4.7K · 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
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
4.6y ago
latest release · v2.4 · 30 Mar 2022
7
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 79% 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 “70K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 80K.
Install history since 1 Oct 2021
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 2.4 After much demand, made it stop throwing a warning in PHP 8. Please consider ceasing usage of this widget on modern sites. Switch to block based themes, or use purpose specific plugins to solve your needs instead of stor 2.4
- — Version 2.3 Changed the call to WP_Widget to use the PHP 5 __construct() method. Ref: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2015/07/02/deprecating-php4-style-constructors-in-wordpress-4-3/ 2.3
- — Version 2.2 Translation fixes for WP 3.7 Remove donation link 2.2
- — Version 2.1 Fixed broken wpautop filter. Checkbox on widget works now. 2.1
- — Version 2.0 Changed widget to use new Class methods for creating widget. This simplifies the widget and should eliminate any problems with it losing code or disappearing from sidebars and so forth. 2.0
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 5.9.2
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 57 languages, 27 at 90% or more
Plus 33 more locales with partial translations.
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 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Like the Text widget, but also allows working PHP code to be inserted."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("use this"); 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 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 749 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 2 of 3 tags appear in the text; "execphp" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-13 80K+ → 70K+ down after 125 days in tier
- 2026-04-10 90K+ → 80K+ down after 235 days in tier
- 2025-08-18 100K+ → 90K+ down after 19 days in tier
- 2025-07-30 90K+ → 100K+ up after 41 days in tier
- 2025-06-19 100K+ → 90K+ down after 1874 days in tier
- 2020-05-02 200K+ → 100K+ down after 1309 days in tier
- 2016-10-01 100K+ → 200K+ 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).
-
Code Widget 3K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D -
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
Code Snippets 1M+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Blocksy Companion 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for PHP Code Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/php-code-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="PHP Code Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> PHP Code Widget: 70K+ active installs, 4.7★ (61 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/php-code-widget
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