RichText Extension
by Aki Hamano · Blocks
Also makes 5 other plugins · 53K+ installs across the portfolio →
Adds useful decoration features to the Gutenberg RichText editor toolbar.
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
A 85/100
Few reviews
Active installs
900+
≈990 estimated
Momentum
+22%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “extension” to your wp.org tags. You rank #10 for it without listing it, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed it's a slot worth spending.
85 health vs 71 average across 2,527 Blocks plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →4.6%
of downloads still active
At least 900 of 19.6K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Blocks plugin keeps 2.1%, across 1,580 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Blocks 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 4 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 99 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 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.
38
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
15%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
+0.5
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| richtext | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| decoration | #3 | #8 | 0 |
| highlighter your tag | #9 | #15 | 0 |
| extension | #10 | #19 | 0 |
| rich text your tag | #19 | #22 | up 3 |
| add extension | #9 | #19 | up 1 |
| text highlighter | #10 | #14 | 0 |
| page extension | #13 | #22 | 0 |
| rich | #16 | #22 | 0 |
| formatting your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| gutenberg your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
13 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 9 listed. 4 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
- Add “extension” to your wp.org tags. You rank #10 for it without listing it, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed it's a slot worth spending.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.4K · 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
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
4
releases in the last 12 months
3mo ago
latest release · v3.1.0 · 25 Jul 2026
24
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. 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 15 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 4 Feb 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ ashf2.5y ago
Another gem from AKi.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kontur.us5.4y ago
This is by far the best approach I’ve seen so far on really adding something usable to the WP Gutenberg Block Editor
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ zandiver5.5y ago
This is a seriously underrated plugin that adds great text decoration functionality to the Gutenberg editor.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Akinola Peace olamide6.5y ago
Thanks so much for adding the plugin to WordPress editor
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 5.6.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 8 languages, 3 at 90% or more
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Adds useful decoration features to the Gutenberg RichText editor toolbar."
- ! 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 Mentions Gutenberg.
- ! Headings and lists 4 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 605 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 4 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-08-16 800+ → 900+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-08-15 900+ → 800+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-08-14 800+ → 900+ up after 436 days in tier
- 2024-06-04 700+ → 800+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2024-06-02 800+ → 700+ down after 24 days in tier
- 2024-05-09 700+ → 800+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2024-05-07 800+ → 700+ down after 5 days in tier
- 2024-05-02 700+ → 800+ up after 1 days in tier
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).
-
Advanced Rich Text Tools for Gutenberg 3K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags D -
Classic Editor 8M+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A - C Classic Widgets 2M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag B
-
Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for RichText Extension into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/richtext-extension" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="RichText Extension — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> RichText Extension: 900+ active installs, 5.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/richtext-extension
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