Simple Colorbox

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

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

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 99% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.

No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price. A small install base leaves thin data to model from. The recent download trend is too spiky to read.

1. ★★★★★ Anonymous

   11.3y ago

   Super lightweight and working right out of the box. And actually can be easily styled if you know a bit of css. Thnx a lot Ryan for sharing :).

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2. ★★★★★ phenn

   11.3y ago

   Nothing could be easier. Plugin works great.

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3. ★★★★★ Damiaan van Vliet

   11.4y ago

   Great simple lightbox. Indeed, install plug-in and it works. Easy to use.

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4. ★★★★★ weigertj

   11.5y ago

   Great plugin! I looked for a new responsive plugin to replace jQuery Colorbox plugin. I tried 6-7 very popular lightbox and colorbox plugins and this was the only one that rightaway worked for me with NextCellent Gallery. It perfectly does what it has to do.

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5. ★★★★★ hatul

   11.6y ago

   I like its.

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6. ★★★★★ SiamKreative

   11.6y ago

   This is the best WordPress Colorbox plugin for developers. There are no settings page, all is done with PHP constants. Ryan, the developer of the plugin is friendly and quickly updated the plugin after I asked him. Keep up the good work 🙂

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7. ★★★★★ Frank Gomez

   12.0y ago

   Too many plugins try to do too much. This is why they have issues. Just do it, and do it well. KISS.

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8. ★★★★★ jessepearson

   12.1y ago

   I create custom themes for clients and I was looking for a solution that would not only pop up a lightbox/colorbox for images I created in custom templates, but also images the users add via the main WP editor. This does both.

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1 disclosed vulnerability on record for this plugin, 1 still affects the current version.

1. Medium · 6.4 Simple Colorbox <= 1.6.1 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗
   2025-09-26 CVE-2025-60124 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') Affects <= 1.6.1 No patch available

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2025-12-02 2K+ → 1K+ down after 723 days in tier
2. 2023-12-10 3K+ → 2K+ 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).

• WP Colorbox 5K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags C
• Simplelightbox 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags D
• WP ImageViewer 700+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags B
• Lightbox 600+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
• Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag B
• Firelight Lightbox 200K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A

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Drop a live Pulse card for Simple Colorbox into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Simple Colorbox: 1K+ active installs, 4.8★ (12 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-29. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/simple-colorbox