Theme Inspector
by Melissa Cabral · Uncategorized
A developer's inspector to illuminate the WordPress Template Hierarchy and help with building WordPress Classic themes.
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 48/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
400+
≈450 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: “developer”, “inspector” and “template” 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.
48 health vs 58 average across 25,764 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.5%
of downloads still active
At least 400 of 15.7K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,773 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 3+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 6.1.16.
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.
Room to improve
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 1358 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.1.16; the current branch is 6.8
4.7★ over 11 reviews, smoothed to 4.21★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 1358 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| developer your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| inspector your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| template your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| theme your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| utility your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “developer”, “inspector” and “template” 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 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 555 · 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
3.7y ago
latest release · v4.0.1 · 13 Feb 2023
2
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 88% 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 “400+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 10 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 5 Sep 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ webstpro1.7y ago
Documentation says Theme Inspecor appears on right side when viewing web page as Admin. It is the light blue color with no text so it is not obvious that you need to click to use the theme builder. This topic was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by webstpro.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ibanner5.7y ago
This plugin looks like something I’ve been looking for, for quite some time. However it seems it doesn’t play well with RTL sites. The popup with the info is aligned to the right side of the admin bar button, with causes some of the info to disappear out of view. I would be more than willing to reconsider my rating if this issue is solved.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ milenfrom6.9y ago
Very useful
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ maxbrandl187.7y ago
Awesome! Still works (with 4.9.8) Thx
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ chzumbrunnen8.1y ago
Not only does it show the currently active template file (what some other plugins do too), but it shows where in the template hierarchy it is. Therefor it’s very easy to know what template file to edit / replace in a child theme. Also it shows the post type, post id, true conditions… It’s a fantastic developer tool and I highly recommend it Too sad that this plugin isn’t that well known. It’s the best of it’s kind in my humble opinion.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ wp-newbee9.1y ago
Thank you for such a helpful plugin . It works beautifully and make the developer much easier. Best, Azita
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ tizianasd10.4y ago
The plug in is very useful: you always have all the info you need at your fingertip. Tech support is also very prompt.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ djpacmansd10.6y ago
It tells you what page template you’re using which is really helpful when you’re starting out and a great tool if you’re a seasoned WP developer. Great plugin! Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗
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 30 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A developer's inspector to illuminate the WordPress Template Hierarchy and help with building WordPress Cla..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 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 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 561 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "utility" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-01-07 500+ → 400+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-01-06 400+ → 500+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2026-01-02 500+ → 400+ down after 160 days in tier
- 2025-07-26 600+ → 500+ down after 123 days in tier
- 2025-03-25 700+ → 600+ down after 115 days in tier
- 2024-11-30 800+ → 700+ down after 5 days in tier
- 2024-11-25 900+ → 800+ down after 245 days in tier
- 2024-03-25 1K+ → 900+ down after 2 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).
-
Multiple Themes 10K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags C - C Custom Post Template 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Canvas 9K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags A - C Custom Category Templates 3K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Quick Child Theme Generator 800+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D - S Search My Theme 200+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Theme Inspector into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/theme-inspector" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Theme Inspector — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Theme Inspector: 400+ active installs, 4.7★ (11 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/theme-inspector
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