Section Widget
by ctltwp · Uncategorized
Also makes 20 other plugins · 4.7K+ installs across the portfolio →
Display arbitrary information only on selected sections of your site. Also allows you to easily organize them into tabs in your sidebar.
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
C 55/100
Stale · Few reviews · Open vulnerability
Active installs
400+
≈500 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: “html”, “shortcode” and “tabbed” 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.
55 health vs 58 average across 25,739 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.6%
of downloads still active
At least 400 of 61.6K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,772 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.
Removal-risk signals
30/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.8.41, well behind 6.8.
- Aging. Over a year since the last update.
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: WP compatibility
Updated 548 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.8.41; the current branch is 6.8
4.0★ over 5 reviews, smoothed to 4.09★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Set "Tested up to" to WordPress 6.8; lagging the current branch costs search weight.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| html your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| shortcode your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| tabbed your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| tabs your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| text your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “html”, “shortcode” and “tabbed” 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 277 · 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
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
1.5y ago
latest release · v3.3.1 · 2 May 2025
18
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 45% 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 “400+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 8 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 500.
Install history since 27 May 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ aparentdesign11.4y ago
Been using it for years, it does a great job with tabbed widgets and still works with latest WordPress. However, there are a few little tricks I need to use with some other plugins/jetpack, so it could use a refresh.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sloughmiller11.6y ago
Real versatile widget, easy to use to create any number of interesting and different menus on any page; wish it found a permanent home with a developer to keep up with the latest releases of WordPress. I haven’t found a similar widget that compares to Section Widget. I need to update WP to its latest version to use a brand new entire rewrite release of a another plugin, but not certain whether Section Widget will work in WP 4.0-4.1 releases.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dan.akio11.9y ago
Excelent widget!!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ssiruguri13.0y ago
The widget did what I needed – assign a widget only to posts.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ pattigru13.0y ago
Widget will not display. I see there are others having the same problem. Can someone respond please? I don’t think this widget works!
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence Intelligence2 open vulnerabilities affect the current version (3.3.1). 0 of 2 disclosed are patched.
- 2025-05-02 CVE-2025-46537 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 3.3.1 No patch available
- 2025-04-30 CVE-2025-46441 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory Affects <= 3.3.1 No patch available
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8.2
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
6 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 "Display arbitrary information only on selected sections of your site. Also allows you to easily organize th..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 11 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 10 of 11 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 Mentions PayPal.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,838 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-24 500+ → 400+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-10-22 400+ → 500+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-10-21 500+ → 400+ down after 7 days in tier
- 2026-10-14 400+ → 500+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-10-12 500+ → 400+ down after 17 days in tier
- 2026-09-25 400+ → 500+ up after 31 days in tier
- 2026-08-25 500+ → 400+ down after 262 days in tier
- 2025-12-06 600+ → 500+ down after 2 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).
-
Shortcoder — Create Shortcodes for Anything 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Meks Flexible Shortcodes 10K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags C -
Tabby Responsive Tabs 10K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags B -
Responsive Tabs 4K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B -
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A - M MW WP Form 200K+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Section Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/section-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Section Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Section Widget: 400+ active installs, 4.0★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/section-widget
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