Simple Custom Content
by Jeff Starr · Content & Feeds
Also makes 30 other plugins · 1.1M+ installs across the portfolio →
Easily add custom content to your WP Posts, Pages, and RSS Feeds.
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
Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈200 estimated
Momentum
+31%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: One page off on “custom content”. #14 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
86 health vs 64 average across 1,193 Content & Feeds plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.4%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 23.4K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Content & Feeds plugin keeps 0.8%, across 863 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Content & Feeds 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 4 releases 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
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 83 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.8★ over 6 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
45
Momentum
Holding steady
+0.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 26d
40%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 26d
-1.4
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| custom content your tag | #14 | #22 | — |
| custom rss | #16 | #20 | up 6 |
| content your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| feeds your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| rss your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
11 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 2 listed. 9 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
- One page off on “custom content”. #14 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- “content”, “feeds” and “posts” 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 2.2K · 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
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
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
4
releases in the last 12 months
3mo ago
latest release · v20260809 · 9 Aug 2026
31
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. 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 yesterday and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 200.
At the current install trend, crossing 200+ in roughly 871 days.
Install history since 1 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ snoop232.1y ago
Amazing. Exactly what I needed. And works like a charm. Thanks for making it.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jimmy Lee6.0y ago
Using as above content widget for multiple share button shortcodes, couldn’t live without this plugin. Another great J. Starr plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ hungryandgrumpy6.1y ago
Superb plugin and very easy to use.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kairenv10.2y ago
Plugin does just as it says and delivers it without problems. When I came across a few things that I wanted the plugin to do that it didn’t do the support from the developer was simply outstanding. Fast and efficient replies. It’s now the perfect plugin for my needs.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jeff Starr11.0y ago
Simple Custom Content was launched in October of 2012, and has been rocking custom content ever since! So huge THANK YOU to everyone who uses the plugin — here’s to another 3 years of Simple Custom Content!! 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ laura.lee11.5y ago
It does just what it says it will do in that respect… and, for me, is the only plug in I found that would do it. I don’t think it deserves less than 5 stars… because it does what it says. Wanting more bells and whistles… would be wanting something other than what it said and is not a reason to give a plug in less than 5 stars for doing what it says.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ seamstobesew13.2y ago
I realize a version for 3.6 is not out yet. I really need something that will allow custom content without using shortcodes. I loved that this plugin automatically added what I needed it to add, but if a “more” is used for continued reading and you have the custom content set to be included at the bottom of the post, it still shows on main home page underneath the words Continue Reading. I’d also appreciate the ability to have more than one custom code. Let us title each type of custom code, and perhaps pick which one we need from html editor or sidebar options. I hope you will fix this in your version for 3.6 wordpress.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 2 languages, 1 at 90% or more
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
4 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Easily add custom content to your WP Posts, Pages, and RSS Feeds."
- ! 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 One audience phrase ("ideal for"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Gutenberg, Block editor, Google Analytics, REST API.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 5 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 3,216 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-30 200+ → 100+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-10-28 100+ → 200+ up after 7 days in tier
- 2026-10-21 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-10-20 100+ → 200+ up after 197 days in tier
- 2026-04-06 200+ → 100+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-04-03 100+ → 200+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-04-01 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-31 100+ → 200+ up after 30 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).
-
GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A - D Disable Feeds 20K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags D
-
RSS Includes Pages 10K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags A -
Disable Feeds WP 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags B -
RSS Image Feed 2K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D -
Koala AI 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Simple Custom Content into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/simple-custom-content" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Simple Custom Content — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Simple Custom Content: 100+ active installs, 4.8★ (6 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/simple-custom-content
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