Simple Custom CSS Plugin
by John Regan · Uncategorized
Also makes 1 other plugin · 100.4K+ installs across the portfolio →
Add Custom CSS to your WordPress site without any hassles.
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
C 64/100
Stale
Active installs
100K+
≈150K estimated
Momentum
+2%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “code” for “highlighter”. “code” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “highlighter” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
64 health vs 58 average across 25,734 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.2%
of downloads still active
At least 100K of 3.1M lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,766 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.
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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 599 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.7.11; the current branch is 6.8
4.7★ over 159 reviews, smoothed to 4.56★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 599 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.
31
Momentum
Losing ground
-1.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+0.7
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| simple custom css | #13 | #13 | down 2 |
| syntax highlighter | #13 | #7 | down 1 |
| custom css your tag | #24 | #17 | down 1 |
| code highlighter | #23 | #9 | 0 |
| highlighter | #24 | #10 | down 2 |
| code your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| css your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| custom your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| styles your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
10 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 5 listed. 5 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
- Swap “code” for “highlighter”. “code” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “highlighter” sits at #24 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 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 92.3K · 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.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 94% 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 “100K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.3 years ago; the previous band took 2.9 years to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 1 Nov 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Bub9mo ago
This plugin block me from viewing my media files when I am, for instance, trying to add an image block to a page. Except for this I think it is an excellent plugin. My work-around will be to disable this plugin while adding any image media and re-enabling it when I am done. This topic was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by Bub.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ cengoguven9mo ago
İt’s so easy to use and does the job as described.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ellissei11mo ago
Simple and useful, but modern CSS properties like clamp(), repeat(), margin-inline, or less common units like dvh throw syntax errors. For beginners, this can be really confusing.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sintow1.9y ago
Have been relying on this plugin for several years. The problem is that it appears to have been abandoned, leading to warnings on popular security sites and plugins. It would be so great to have it updated again!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ILIAS CHATZISTOGIANNIS2.7y ago
No settings needed for this plug in. It just works. Great choice for customizing footers and headers.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Maik_F3.1y ago
After many lost hours this finally solved my problems.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ numa4514.8y ago
For performance reasons, and instead of rendering plain CSS in page, maybe it would be better to generate a static file, versioned on each update for example ? It could allow to cache this file, and serve it without php code execution on each page request. Could it be possible for you to add this feature ? – & Thank you so John for this plugin i really like to use !
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Vladimir Sosnovskiy5.0y ago
Спасибо! Самый простой и быстрый способ не разбираясь в коде исправить косяк! 😉 — Thanks! The easiest and fastest way to fix the jamb without understanding the code! 😉
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 4.0.4 4.0.4
- — Version 4.0.3 4.0.2 * Use WP’s CodeMirror on settings page * Tested for compatibility with WP version 5.1.1 * Tested for compatibility with PHP version 7.2 4.0.1 * Fixed bug with broken editor styles on older versions of WP. 4.0 * New 4.0.3
- — Version 1.1.1 1.1 * Removed unneeded hidden input * Added Action Hooks * Added cleanup on deletion * Added author attribution option * Added a more elegant method for adding CSS to the page: Instead of using print_scripts() to insert 1.1.1
- — Version 1.0 1.0
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 48 languages, 18 at 90% or more · development strings
Plus 24 more locales with partial translations.
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
5 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Add Custom CSS to your WordPress site without any hassles."
- ! 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 Mentions Multisite.
- ✓ Headings and lists 3 headings and 3 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,011 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
- 2024-06-29 200K+ → 100K+ down after 1073 days in tier
- 2021-07-22 300K+ → 200K+ down after 1876 days in tier
- 2016-06-02 200K+ → 300K+ up after 242 days in tier
- 2015-10-04 100K+ → 200K+ up
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 Add Custom CSS 60K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags B - S Scripts n Styles 30K+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags D
-
Custom CSS Pro 7K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A -
Advanced CSS Editor 4K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D -
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags A -
Simple CSS 80K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Simple Custom CSS Plugin into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/simple-custom-css" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Simple Custom CSS Plugin — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Simple Custom CSS Plugin: 100K+ active installs, 4.7★ (159 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/simple-custom-css
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