Update Control
by George Stephanis · Uncategorized
Also makes 22 other plugins · 15.6K+ installs across the portfolio →
This adds some options to your Settings > General page that let you tweak auto-updates.
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
B 83/100
no flags
Active installs
4K+
≈4.5K estimated
Momentum
+56%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “control”, “update” and “theme update” to your wp.org tags. You rank #5, #7 and #14 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 2 listed these are the slots worth spending.
83 health vs 58 average across 25,734 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →7.9%
of downloads still active
At least 4K of 50.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,766 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.
This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Listing tuning
Updated 137 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
4.4★ over 17 reviews, smoothed to 4.18★ and held back under 25 reviews
2 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Only 2 tags — use the full 5 relevant tags so search matches more queries.
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.
35
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.5
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
12%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.5
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| update control | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| automatic updates your tag | #4 | #13 | 0 |
| control | #5 | #10 | 0 |
| update | #7 | #11 | down 1 |
| auto update | #7 | #14 | 0 |
| updates your tag | #13 | #18 | down 3 |
| version control | #8 | #12 | down 2 |
| automatic update | #5 | #13 | 0 |
| no update | #6 | #10 | 0 |
| general | #16 | #20 | up 1 |
| disable automatic update | #7 | #14 | 0 |
| auto updates | #17 | #19 | down 2 |
| auto update checks | #8 | #17 | — |
| theme update | #14 | #20 | 0 |
| core update | #15 | #18 | down 1 |
| disable automatic updates | #9 | #16 | up 1 |
| tweak | #24 | #22 | 0 |
| plugin update | #18 | #20 | up 1 |
| controls | #19 | #18 | down 1 |
| page update | #12 | #20 | up 2 |
63 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 31 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Add “control”, “update” and “theme update” to your wp.org tags. You rank #5, #7 and #14 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 2 listed these are the slots worth spending.
- One page off on “updates”. #13 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 2K · 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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
5mo ago
latest release · v1.5.1 · 16 Jun 2026
13
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 “4K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 16 months ago; the previous band took 13 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 8 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Pietro10.0y ago
None plugin neither wordpress minor or major release was started by this plugin, despite it ru by 6 months in my website.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dimitris3311.5y ago
This should be added to Core : )
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ TLCJohn11.7y ago
Hi there Guys, I have used a small number of plug-ins to update my theme and plug-ins on WordPress websites. This plug-in works extremely well and I would recommend it to anyone. It does what it says on the tin! Kind regards John
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Techload12.0y ago
As another reviewer already said, there should be an option in WordPress itself to disable updates. In the meanwhile, this is the plugin to use. Yesterday several of my client’s websites were broken because of the 4.01 update. You can imagine all the troubles I am facing. Not all themes developers are quick to provide a fix, for instance.So, I immediately installed this plugin on all websites to prevent future problems.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Viktor Szépe12.0y ago
No, it work. Low resource consumption. It does what it says.
Read on wp.org ↗ - Read on wp.org ↗★★★★★ pmoffett12.4y ago
- ★★★★★ Mylander12.6y ago
DOESNT WORK – its an old plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Nile Flores12.8y ago
This is a solution I’d recommend to the non-coder. I’d still like WordPress to consider adding these settings for users to disable since they did add it to core. IF that never happens, well, at least this plugin exists. 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.5.1 Security and coding standards modernization. Enqueue admin script and style rather than using inline output. Safe output escaping and i18n improvements. Strict comparisons and capability checks implemented. 1.5.1
- — Version 1.5 Bugfix. Fixes filtering of debug email sent when using a development version of WordPress. 1.5
- — Version 1.4 Bugfix. Fixes disabling all automatic updates not working. 1.4
- — Version 1.3.2 Bugfix. Correct handling of VCS check filter. 1.3.2
- — Version 1.3.1 Bugfix. Correct filter name. 1.3.1
- — Version 1.3 Maintenance Update. Add multisite awareness, more FAQs. 1.3
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.0.16 · WP 5.2.1
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
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 "This adds some options to your Settings > General page that let you tweak auto-updates."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 6 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 6 of 6 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 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 179 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 1 of 2 tags appear in the text; "Automatic updates" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-06-28 5K+ → 4K+ down after 389 days in tier
- 2024-06-04 6K+ → 5K+ down after 259 days in tier
- 2023-09-19 7K+ → 6K+ down after 234 days in tier
- 2023-01-28 8K+ → 7K+ down after 241 days in tier
- 2022-06-01 9K+ → 8K+ down after 119 days in tier
- 2022-02-02 10K+ → 9K+ down after 715 days in tier
- 2020-02-18 20K+ → 10K+ down after 580 days in tier
- 2018-07-18 30K+ → 20K+ down after 108 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).
- W WP Auto Updater 7K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags B
-
Background Update Notification Email Address 100+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D - D Disable Automatic Background Updates 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
KK-UPDATE-CONTROL — installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
Digitizer Update Hold — installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
TwinCraft AutoGuard — installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Update Control into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/update-control" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Update Control — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Update Control: 4K+ active installs, 4.4★ (17 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/update-control
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