Simple Category Icons
by Bas Schuiling · Uncategorized
Also makes 2 other plugins · 200+ installs across the portfolio →
A simple way to add icons to your categories and other taxonomies.
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 46/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
90+
≈96 estimated
Momentum
+29%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “categories”, “category” and “icon” 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.
46 health vs 58 average across 25,733 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.0%
of downloads still active
At least 90 of 8.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,767 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 4.0.38, 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 4386 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.0.38; the current branch is 6.8
4.5★ over 6 reviews, smoothed to 4.14★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4386 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| icon your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| icons 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). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “categories”, “category” and “icon” 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 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 185 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #16,800 to #17,400, alongside the other plugins at 90+ 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.
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
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
13.1y ago
latest release · v1.12 · 12 Oct 2013
5
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 “90+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 57% of the way through.
Install history since 16 Oct 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Miguel11.3y ago
I was struggling with CSS to replace category name with an icon. The. I read about Google penalize you if you hide text. So this plugin resolve quickly my problem. I added to a custom post type in just minutes thank you!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ twodayslate11.5y ago
There should be an option to inject this inside the Categories widget. There should also be x-large icon options, or an option to specify the icon sizes. Otherwise awesome!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ supermaheu11.7y ago
Perfect for adding icons to categories on any template of the website, with a very simple line of php.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ goodkoding11.8y ago
A very useful plugin. Streightforward backend and easy to use the functions in custom theme. Saved me a lot of time.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ stuudio12.8y ago
Looks and sounds nice but impossible to get any help. Moving on. Looks like he has abandoned this project. Web site has last update from Oct 2013. This is 5 months of silence.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kamenlee12.9y ago
Using it to fire off some icons on the front page based on category and it works just like it says. Nice easy backend setup and super simple drop in php to call the icons where needed.
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
3 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 "A simple way to add icons to your categories and other taxonomies."
- ! 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 Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,521 characters of description.
- ✓ 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
- 2026-05-27 100+ → 90+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-05-26 90+ → 100+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-05-25 100+ → 90+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-05-23 90+ → 100+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-05-21 100+ → 90+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-05-19 90+ → 100+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-05-17 100+ → 90+ down after 85 days in tier
- 2026-02-21 90+ → 100+ up 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).
-
PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
Media Library Categories 20K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A - R Recent Posts by Category Widget 4K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
-
WP and Divi Icons 2K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags D -
Category Icon 2K+ installs · 3.3★ · 2 shared tags B -
Web Icons 1K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Simple Category Icons into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/simple-category-icons" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Simple Category Icons — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Simple Category Icons: 90+ active installs, 4.5★ (6 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/simple-category-icons
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