Remove Widget Titles
by Stephen Cronin · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 2 other plugins · 6.8K+ installs across the portfolio →
The Remove Widget Titles plugin removes the title from any widget that has a title starting with the "!" character.
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 51/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
6K+
≈6.8K estimated
Momentum
+52%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “hide”, “remove” and “usability” 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.
51 health vs 56 average across 5,895 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →9.5%
of downloads still active
At least 6K of 63.2K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,188 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.
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
5.0★ over 27 reviews, smoothed to 4.42★
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| hide your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| remove your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| usability your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget titles your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “hide”, “remove” and “usability” 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 457 · 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
9.4y ago
latest release · v1.0 · 21 Jun 2017
1
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 “6K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 55 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 7K.
Install history since 6 Aug 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Wizard_1345.3y ago
Thank you for helpful plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ wynden7.8y ago
This not only allowed me to label custom html widgets, but also removed default widget titles from displaying on my page that I had no option to omit before. Works like a charm! Thank you so much!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ michaelquinn9.3y ago
Brilliant and simple. Absolutely should be in Core. Little tip – your title just needs to start with “!”, you can have a space after the “!”. i.e. “! Hello World”, which I think is nicer and easier to read than “!Hello World”.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ val_pepi10.1y ago
Must have plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Arleen10.3y ago
It just works! And I agree with other commenters that it should be in WP core. Thank you for this needed plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ brightcoconut10.4y ago
How did I not know about this before? All the css… sheesh. Brilliant.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ RupertH2O10.4y ago
Simple and good plugin that gives you the opportunity to hide selectively each widget title.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ schuetzenhallau10.6y ago
Works as advetrised. Nothing much to say, small, simple plugin that just works, and thats all what it needs to do.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
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
5 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 "The Remove Widget Titles plugin removes the title from any widget that has a title starting with the "!" ch..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 1 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Installation Instructions").
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("use it", "if you have").
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 7 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,833 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "usability" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-09-06 7K+ → 6K+ down after 278 days in tier
- 2025-12-02 8K+ → 7K+ down after 318 days in tier
- 2025-01-18 9K+ → 8K+ down after 199 days in tier
- 2024-07-03 10K+ → 9K+ down after 2010 days in tier
- 2019-01-01 20K+ → 10K+ down after 545 days in tier
- 2017-07-05 10K+ → 20K+ 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).
-
Hide/Remove Metadata 20K+ installs · 3.7★ · 2 shared tags B -
Disable Media Pages 10K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
AH Display Widgets 8K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags D -
Remove admin menus by role 8K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A -
If Widget – Visibility control for Widgets 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D - H Hide Comments Feature 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Remove Widget Titles into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/remove-widget-titles" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Remove Widget Titles — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Remove Widget Titles: 6K+ active installs, 5.0★ (27 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/remove-widget-titles
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