The Events Calendar: Category Colors
by Nexcess · Booking & Events
Also makes 23 other plugins · 2.6M+ installs across the portfolio →
Add event category background colors to The Events Calendar events.
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Health
B 74/100
Stale
Active installs
4K+
≈4.8K estimated
Momentum
+43%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: “calendar”, “category” and “events” 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.
74 health vs 69 average across 1,854 Booking & Events plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.9%
of downloads still active
At least 4K of 450.1K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Booking & Events plugin keeps 0.8%, across 948 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.
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 414 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.7.11; the current branch is 7.1
5.0★ over 61 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.6★
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 414 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.
28
Momentum
Losing ground
-1.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
-0.6
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| colors | #11 | #8 | down 4 |
| color your tag | #23 | #14 | — |
| change background colors | #19 | #19 | down 3 |
| calendar your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| events your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
13 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 3 listed. 10 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “calendar”, “category” and “events” 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 · 1,492 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 10.7K · 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.
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
1.1y ago
latest release · v7.4.2 · 16 Sep 2025
83
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 69% 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 “4K+”. 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 5K.
Install history since 2 Dec 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ elmanuuu2.0y ago
Has not been working since I installed it 6 weeks ago :/ edit: solved with latest release This topic was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by elmanuuu. This topic was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by elmanuuu.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ d1abo19042.0y ago
Officially recommended by Events Calendar (/knowledgebase/the-events-calendar-category-colors/), bugged with new versions of the plugin and time needed for a fix is incredibly long.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ orsosgriffin2.3y ago
Support was extremely responsive to an update issue. This makes an already stellar plugin even better.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ viche2.5y ago
Real Go-to guys! Excellent support
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Manou Allou2.6y ago
This is a really nice addition to the Events Calendar plugin. Thank you for your time and effort. Just hope that it keeps getting updated for future versions of WordPress.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ hellotaco2.7y ago
Somehow it’s not working with The Event Calendar 6.3.3.1.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kpwawp3.7y ago
The plugin works very good, also with Elementor and TEC Pro Version. Thanks for the great support to solve a problem with displaying the legend of multiple calendars on one page!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ tknol3.7y ago
I was about to work through adding color to my categories the hard way, but found this and was able to easily accomplish my goal. Thanks for making this available. Saved me a bunch of time.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- 2025-09-16 Version 7.4.2 Fix – Resolve problems related to loading the plugin with newer versions of The Events Calendar 6.14+ 7.4.2
- 2025-02-06 Version 7.4.1 Fix – Resolve translation issue that can occur with get_plugin_data(). [TEC-5350] 7.4.1
- 2024-11-14 Version 7.4.0 Fix – Make sure we have fully compatible settings save with the new TEC settings page. 7.4.0
- 2024-08-20 Version 7.3.2 Fix – Resolve problems when Hide option not hiding categories on the frontend. (props @afragen) [TEC-5139] 7.3.2
- 2024-07-09 Version 7.3.1 Fix – Resolve problem for PHP 8+, avoid passing pass null to string specific functions. (props @afragen) [TECENG-58] 7.3.1
- 2023-04-29 Version 7.3.0 updates to legend superpowers to maintain selection between time selections dim/undim legend superpowers menu items general code improvement of legend superpowers yeah Barry 🙌 7.3.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 58 languages, 1 at 90% or more
Plus 34 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.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 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 "Add event category background colors to The Events Calendar events."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 5 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 5 of 5 read like questions a user would type.
- ! 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 1 heading and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 541 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
- 2026-08-09 5K+ → 4K+ down after 158 days in tier
- 2026-03-04 6K+ → 5K+ down after 97 days in tier
- 2025-11-27 7K+ → 6K+ down after 58 days in tier
- 2025-09-30 8K+ → 7K+ down after 59 days in tier
- 2025-08-02 9K+ → 8K+ down after 117 days in tier
- 2025-04-07 10K+ → 9K+ down after 55 days in tier
- 2025-02-11 9K+ → 10K+ up after 25 days in tier
- 2025-01-17 10K+ → 9K+ down after 1861 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).
-
The Events Calendar 600K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags B -
WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for The Events Calendar: Category Colors into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/the-events-calendar-category-colors" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="The Events Calendar: Category Colors — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> The Events Calendar: Category Colors: 4K+ active installs, 5.0★ (61 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-04. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/the-events-calendar-category-colors
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