Simple Code Highlighter
by kedinn · Uncategorized
Simple Syntax Code Highlighter
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Health
D 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
300+
≈360 estimated
Momentum
+85%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “button” for “prettify”. “button” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “prettify” sits at #16 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 25,734 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.4%
of downloads still active
At least 300 of 21.2K 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 8+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.35, 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 3277 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.9.35; the current branch is 6.8
4.7★ over 7 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3277 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.
33
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
0.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 10d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 10d
0.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| prettify | #16 | #10 | 0 |
| button your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| code your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| codigo your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| highlighter your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| syntax your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
4 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 3 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
- Swap “button” for “prettify”. “button” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “prettify” sits at #16 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 109 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #10,100 to #11,100, alongside the other plugins at 300+ 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
9.0y ago
latest release · v2.0 · 10 Nov 2017
1
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 95% 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 “300+”. 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 1 Jan 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Elisevanoosten8.3y ago
I liked this plugin very much, but it stopped working after the latest WordPress update. It’s not possible to click on the ‘<>’ button anymore. Now I have to go to ‘code’ and click on “Code highlighter”. Can you please fix this?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ koalawang8.5y ago
After upgrade wordpress to the latest version, the codes just inserted to article can not be displayed even you still could see the code insert button. But no result after you edit the codes.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ svlik8.5y ago
After updating WordPress, the article page can be displayed normally and highlighted, but it cannot be added normally in the background. After clicking on the insertion code, the edit box will not add new code content.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ditronix8.9y ago
Worked really well, thanks! The code formatting looks great. Would be nice to easily change the background from black to grey to help mobile users. My only problem is that it does not integrate within Yada Wiki Editor, which is shame as I cannot just add code to Wiki pages. A work around is to go to page source and add CODE , which is a pain. This topic was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by ditronix.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ wiloke10.2y ago
Easily use in the backend and clean on front-end. Kiss you. Thank you so much
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kristian.kirilov11.9y ago
Thanks a lot for simple plugin and greatest color scheme. One problem i have is if the line is too long i can’t read it. Developing the scroll button may fix this issue. Thanks.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kedinn12.0y ago
Simple plugin for my website 😀
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
1 of 8 pass · checked 25 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description is 30 characters, too short to say what the plugin does.
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 1 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Installation Instructions").
- ! 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 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 326 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "codigo" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-27 400+ → 300+ down after 333 days in tier
- 2025-06-28 500+ → 400+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-06-27 400+ → 500+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-06-25 500+ → 400+ down after 286 days in tier
- 2024-09-12 600+ → 500+ down after 301 days in tier
- 2023-11-16 700+ → 600+ down after 181 days in tier
- 2023-05-19 800+ → 700+ down after 196 days in tier
- 2022-11-04 900+ → 800+ down after 33 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).
-
Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 3 shared tags A - G Google Syntax Highlighter for WordPress 100+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags
- A Auto SyntaxHighlighter 100+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
- S Syntax Highlighter Compress 70+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags D
- P Prettify Code Syntax 70+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
- S Syntax Highlighter++ 60+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Simple Code Highlighter into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/simple-code-highlighter" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Simple Code Highlighter — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Simple Code Highlighter: 300+ active installs, 4.7★ (7 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/simple-code-highlighter
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