Simple customize
by Marius L. J. · Uncategorized
Also makes 4 other plugins · 1.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
It's your site, now customize it!
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 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
70+
≈78 estimated
Momentum
+125%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “css”, “customisation” and “customization” 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.
45 health vs 58 average across 25,737 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.4%
of downloads still active
At least 70 of 18K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,769 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.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance 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 5+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.6.23.
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 2155 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.6.23; the current branch is 6.8
4.5★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2155 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| css your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| customisation your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| customization your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| design your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| theme your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “css”, “customisation” and “customization” 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 86 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #18,200 to #19,000, alongside the other plugins at 70+ 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
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
5.9y ago
latest release · v1.7.1 · 6 Dec 2020
8
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 “70+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 80.
Install history since 5 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ X-Raym11.9y ago
This plugin is not perfect yet, but we can feel it’s power : add easiy flexible customization for any theme, free or premium or custom. Support is nice, and nice feature are coming This is a very promising project 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ qcalamin12.0y ago
Simple customize plugin is really a very good plugin for customization. Thanks! This topic was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by Samuel Wood (Otto). This topic was modified 8 years, 8 months ago by Marius L. J.. Reason: Removed link reference
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Bryan Willis13.1y ago
This is by far one of the coolest wordpress plugins you’ll find. It gives designers, who aren’t great PHP experts, an easy way to create theme options without having to do anything beside css. However, this plugin is great for anyone wanting to create quick theme options, not just novice users. It could completely replace the need for theme developers to use a typical “theme options framework”. The only thing I think it’s missing, that’s a must add is a capability manager (forgive me if it’s already there and I’m missing it). Currently there is no way to hide the advanced element selector and framework by user role. When creating theme options for a client the advanced element selector creates a lot of confusion for people who don’t know what they’re doing and shouldn’t be using advanced options to begin with. A quick fix is to simply use {display:none} on the customizer after you’re finished coding, but a “hide by user role” would completely eliminate the need for any other theme customizer in my opinion. All and all, no doubt this plugin or something very similar will be the future of theme developing.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Peter Booker13.3y ago
It took me a few minutes to get used to how it works, then I was happily changing the style of anything I could click on. This is an excellent extension of the customizer and really shows its power. I would like to see some more graphical interfaces for choosing styling options in the future, but I think this plugin has great promise. Props for showing off the power of the customizer and for making it easier for users to style their websites.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 5.6
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 132 languages, 0 at 90% or more
Plus 108 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
2 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 Short description is 33 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 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! 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 1,544 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "customisation", "design" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-07 80+ → 70+ down after 23 days in tier
- 2026-07-15 70+ → 80+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-07-14 80+ → 70+ down after 195 days in tier
- 2025-12-31 90+ → 80+ down after 106 days in tier
- 2025-09-16 100+ → 90+ down after 1003 days in tier
- 2022-12-18 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2022-12-17 100+ → 200+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2022-12-15 200+ → 100+ down after 834 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).
-
Visual CSS Style Editor 30K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A -
Generate Child Theme 9K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B - T TJ Custom CSS 8K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
- C Custom CSS Manager 1K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Pagination Styler for WooCommerce 1K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
CP Blocks 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Simple customize into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/simple-customizer" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Simple customize — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Simple customize: 70+ active installs, 4.5★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/simple-customizer
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