Sliding Panel
by Justin Tadlock · Media
Also makes 35 other plugins · 30.8K+ installs across the portfolio →
Adds a responsive sliding panel to the top of your WordPress-powered site.
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
60+
≈70 estimated
Momentum
+70%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “javascript”, “jquery” and “sidebar” 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 62 average across 3,279 Media plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.2%
of downloads still active
At least 60 of 37.2K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Media plugin keeps 0.8%, across 2,318 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Media 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 13+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.7.41, 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 4768 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.7.41; 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 4768 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| javascript your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| jquery your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| sidebar your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| slider 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. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “javascript”, “jquery” and “sidebar” 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 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 75 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #19,100 to #20,000, alongside the other plugins at 60+ 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
13.1y ago
latest release · v0.2.0 · 11 Oct 2013
2
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 “60+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 11 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 70.
Install history since 16 Aug 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ douglaskarr11.4y ago
Great plugin. I didn’t end up using it because of a few issues: My widgets didn’t automatically go 3 across and there was no documentation on what might be causing that. I’m surprised very specific classes with unique names weren’t used to ensure the widgets lined up properly. No documentation on how to customize the tab color, shape, etc. to match my site’s branding. No documentation on how to modify the font and line-height in the slide down.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ bluebird212.7y ago
This is a great plugin but in could be improved by adding a few more features: It would be good if one could define a certain icon webfont class (like Font Awsome) instead of “Open” and “Close”. The placement of the tab cannot be customized in the settings page. It could be useful to have it there. Also options to have it on the right or left side could be a great improvement. It could have been great if the sliding panel could “push” the page down instead of moving over it.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mwf11313.0y ago
Exactly what I needed for my site! Thank you.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ gabrielerner13.0y ago
Uno de los plugins más simples y al mismo tiempo prácticos que conozco. Lo recomiendo a los desarrolladores para que lo incorporen a sus themes.
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
7 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 "Adds a responsive sliding panel to the top of your WordPress-powered site."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 17 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 14 of 17 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("if you need", "if you want").
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 4 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,309 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "javascript", "slider" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-20 70+ → 60+ down after 7 days in tier
- 2026-10-13 60+ → 70+ up after 110 days in tier
- 2026-06-25 70+ → 60+ down after 138 days in tier
- 2026-02-07 80+ → 70+ down after 11 days in tier
- 2026-01-27 90+ → 80+ down after 55 days in tier
- 2025-12-03 100+ → 90+ down after 13 days in tier
- 2025-11-20 90+ → 100+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-11-19 100+ → 90+ down after 4 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).
-
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Image Widget 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Fixed Widget and Sticky Elements for WordPress 70K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags D -
Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin 30K+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags A - J jQuery Updater 20K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Sliding Panel into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/sliding-panel" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Sliding Panel — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Sliding Panel: 60+ active installs, 4.5★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/sliding-panel
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