Side Matter
by setzer · Uncategorized
Turns footnotes into sidenotes, magically aligning each note in the sidebar next to its corresponding reference in the text.
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 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
100+
≈150 estimated
Momentum
+16%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “academic” for “sidenotes”. “academic” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sidenotes” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
47 health vs 58 average across 25,735 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.1%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 9.5K 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 12+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.7.41, 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 4678 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.7.41; the current branch is 6.8
4.6★ over 13 reviews, smoothed to 4.20★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4678 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| sidenotes | #7 | #5 | — |
| academic your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| annotate your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| annotation your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| annotations your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| bibliography your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search 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
- Swap “academic” for “sidenotes”. “academic” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sidenotes” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 88 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
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
12.8y ago
latest release · v1.4 · 9 Jan 2014
11
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 “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 18 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 18 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Aharon11.6y ago
For my site, I’ve been waiting for annotations as marginalia (sidenotes) for a long time and I am so grateful to the developers for coding this up and sharing this WordPress plug-in within WordPress’s open-source add-on ecosystem. The only addition I’d request or hope for is support for multiple annotations (for example, two or more separate sets of annotation in the same documents). I have posts in multiple languages with two separate sets of annotation and right now I’m using this plugin and the Annie plugin to support both (one as marginalia, the other as footnotes).
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ master41216012.5y ago
I like this to be honest but not sure how to use it if no sidebar is present! XD
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ KTS91512.6y ago
So far as I am aware, there’s no other plugin around that can do what this one does — and it does it perfectly! The developer provides really fast and helpful support too!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous12.6y ago
Theme: WP Knowledge Base
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Manuel Schmalstieg12.6y ago
I’m converting a collection of academic texts into a WordPress site, and this plugin is precisely what I needed. Excellent work.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ cornopean12.9y ago
Does this work with the popular 2012 theme? I am using that theme and it doesn’t seem to work. Does the post format have to be full width?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ nosrevelk13.2y ago
I tried a few plugins for citations and this one nailed 100%. Thanks a lot!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ stiangk13.2y ago
I love this plugin! It works perfect and it’s great for people who love footnotes but want another solution for WordPress. Thank you!
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
5 of 8 pass · checked 30 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Turns footnotes into sidenotes, magically aligning each note in the sidebar next to its corresponding refer..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 6 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 6 of 6 read like questions a user would type.
- ! 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 3 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 3,347 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 5 tags appear in the text ("academic", "annotation", "annotations", "bibliography" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-05-18 200+ → 100+ down after 11 days in tier
- 2025-05-07 100+ → 200+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-05-05 200+ → 100+ down after 754 days in tier
- 2023-04-12 300+ → 200+ down after 603 days in tier
- 2021-08-17 400+ → 300+ down after 567 days in tier
- 2020-01-28 600+ → 400+ down after 903 days in tier
- 2017-08-08 900+ → 600+ 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).
-
Academic Blogger's Toolkit 300+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D -
Scholar Publications Fetcher 200+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
CitePress – Automatic Citation Generator 50+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags - R Researcher Profiles for ORCID 30+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
- C Citation Importer 20+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
TheLaTeXLab – Citations & Bibliography 10+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Side Matter into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/side-matter" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Side Matter — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Side Matter: 100+ active installs, 4.6★ (13 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/side-matter
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