Lightweight Sidebar Manager
by Brainstorm Force · Admin & Utilities
Also makes 33 other plugins · 7M+ installs across the portfolio →
Create new sidebar areas and display them conditionally on certain pages. Works with all themes.
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 86/100
no flags
Active installs
80K+
≈85K estimated
Momentum
+8%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “widgets” and “custom widget areas” for “sidebars” and “role manager”. “widgets” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sidebars” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “custom widget areas” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “role manager” sits at #18 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
86 health vs 56 average across 5,902 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →7.2%
of downloads still active
At least 80K of 1.1M lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,193 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.
This plugin shipped 1 release 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
Well tuned across the board
Updated 70 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.2★ over 21 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
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.
37
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
15%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.2
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| sidebar | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| conditional sidebar your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| sidebar manager your tag | #1 | #4 | 0 |
| sidebar widget | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| sidebar widgets | #1 | #3 | 0 |
| post sidebar | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| sidebar post | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| sidebar plugin | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| admin sidebar | #2 | #3 | 0 |
| custom sidebar your tag | #4 | #8 | 0 |
| lightweight | #4 | #5 | down 1 |
| wp sidebar | #2 | #4 | up 1 |
| create sidebar | #2 | #3 | 0 |
| page sidebar | #3 | #6 | 0 |
| sidebars | #6 | #12 | 0 |
| wordpress sidebar | #4 | #8 | 0 |
| custom widget areas your tag | #20 | #23 | down 2 |
| lightweight plugin | #9 | #13 | 0 |
| role manager | #18 | #23 | up 1 |
| widget manager | #11 | #22 | up 1 |
| widgets your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
70 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 47 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “widgets” and “custom widget areas” for “sidebars” and “role manager”. “widgets” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “sidebars” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “custom widget areas” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “role manager” sits at #18 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 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 58.5K · 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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
11mo ago
latest release · v2.0.0 · 1 Dec 2025
14
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 67% 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 “80K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 6 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 52% of the way through.
Install history since 1 Jan 2022
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 2.0.0 Fix: Fixed security issue from astra-notice library. 2.0.0
- — Version 1.1.8 Fix: Sidebar rendering issue where specifying “All Singulars from {{category}}” resulted in incorrect display of “{{category}} – Category” after saving. 1.1.8
- — Version 1.1.7 Fix: Added compatibility with WordPress v5.7 for jQuery migration warnings on admin page. 1.1.7
- — Version 1.1.6 Improvement: Hardened the security of plugin. 1.1.6
- — Version 1.1.5 Fix: Security hardening. 1.1.5
- — Version 1.1.4 Fix: Fixed compatibility with other plugins with respect to the admin notice. 1.1.4
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (2.0.0). Sites still on an older version should update.
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.
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 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Create new sidebar areas and display them conditionally on certain pages. Works with all themes."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 892 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 5 tags appear in the text ("conditional sidebar", "custom sidebar", "custom widget areas", "sidebar manager" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-10 90K+ → 80K+ down after 190 days in tier
- 2025-11-01 100K+ → 90K+ down after 1522 days in tier
- 2021-09-01 90K+ → 100K+ up after 92 days in tier
- 2021-06-01 80K+ → 90K+ up after 52 days in tier
- 2021-04-10 70K+ → 80K+ up after 99 days in tier
- 2021-01-01 60K+ → 70K+ up after 61 days in tier
- 2020-11-01 50K+ → 60K+ up after 92 days in tier
- 2020-08-01 40K+ → 50K+ up after 92 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).
- W Widgetize Pages Light 2K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags F
-
One Click Demo Import 1M+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag B -
Ocean Extra 400K+ installs · 3.4★ · 1 shared tag B -
SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Blocksy Companion 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ installs · 3.8★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Lightweight Sidebar Manager into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/sidebar-manager" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Lightweight Sidebar Manager — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Lightweight Sidebar Manager: 80K+ active installs, 4.2★ (21 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/sidebar-manager
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