Simple Google Calendar Widget
by nboehr · Booking & Events
Also makes 1 other plugin · 120+ installs across the portfolio →
Displays events from a public Google Calendar as a sidebar widget.
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 41/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈200 estimated
Momentum
+19%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “calendar”, “google” and “google calendar” 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.
41 health vs 69 average across 1,839 Booking & Events plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.3%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 34.5K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Booking & Events plugin keeps 0.8%, across 940 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Booking & Events 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 9+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.4.34, 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 3614 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.4.34; the current branch is 6.8
3.0★ over 6 reviews, smoothed to 3.98★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3614 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| calendar your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| google your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| google calendar your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “calendar”, “google” and “google calendar” 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 156 · 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
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 · 92% 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 “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band today and the previous band took 12 months to cross, so the real count is still just under 200.
Install history since 19 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ radnumen8.8y ago
I spent a very, very long time trying to find a nice, simple, extensible calendaring plugin like this. It doesn’t have a lot of features, but it does have the ability to import .ics and list events which is all I wanted. The code is clean and well-documented also, so it will be fairly easy to add functionality as I need it.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ gaell9.1y ago
Followed the recommendations (change to a higher PHP version) and broke my site. No warning given of the consequences.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ comlrooney10.7y ago
Does exactly what it says: exposes a shared Google Calendar using the Google UI. No fluff, easy to use.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ petri7110.7y ago
displays the title but that is all on WP 4.4.2
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Blair jersyer11.8y ago
No links to related events, Bad structure (dates are very close to events titles) There are to many things to improve.. Keep Goings 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Lisa13.3y ago
very basic widget to import the google calendar upcoming events.
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 31 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Displays events from a public Google Calendar as a sidebar widget."
- ! 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 Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 1 list.
- ! Enough to quote 714 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 4 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-31 200+ → 100+ down after 367 days in tier
- 2025-10-29 300+ → 200+ down after 4 days in tier
- 2025-10-25 200+ → 300+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-10-23 300+ → 200+ down after 355 days in tier
- 2024-11-02 400+ → 300+ down after 314 days in tier
- 2023-12-24 500+ → 400+ down after 191 days in tier
- 2023-06-16 600+ → 500+ down after 216 days in tier
- 2022-11-12 700+ → 600+ down after 39 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).
-
Pretty Google Calendar 4K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags B -
Add to Calendar Button 3K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
Ad Widget for WordPress 2K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags C -
Tockify Events Calendar 2K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag A -
Google for WooCommerce 800K+ installs · 2.8★ · 1 shared tag C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Simple Google Calendar Widget into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/simple-google-calendar-widget" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Simple Google Calendar Widget — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Simple Google Calendar Widget: 100+ active installs, 3.0★ (6 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/simple-google-calendar-widget
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