Visual Form Builder – Custom Validation Messages
by Matthew Muro · Forms
Also makes 3 other plugins · 22.2K+ installs across the portfolio →
Customize the default jQuery validation messages for all Visual Form Builder or Visual Form Builder Pro forms.
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 44/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈250 estimated
Momentum
-17%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “contact form”, “form builder” and “forms” 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.
44 health vs 65 average across 2,515 Forms plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.9%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 10.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Forms plugin keeps 1.3%, across 1,671 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Forms 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 12+ 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 4661 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.7.41; the current branch is 6.8
4.0★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.09★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 4661 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| contact form your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| form builder your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| forms your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| jquery validation 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
- “contact form”, “form builder” and “forms” 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 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 91 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #11,300 to #12,900, alongside the other plugins at 200+ 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 1 Nov 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.
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
12.8y ago
latest release · v1.2 · 28 Jan 2014
3
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 “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 12 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 14 Feb 2018
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ martin_bissig11.9y ago
Does what it says!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ cshevchuk13.0y ago
could not found at the admin panel
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dzensik13.1y ago
Thank you, very helpful extension!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Bre545413.5y ago
Love this add-on! Does exactly what it says. And FREE!
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 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Customize the default jQuery validation messages for all Visual Form Builder or Visual Form Builder Pro forms."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 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 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 364 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 4 tags appear in the text; "contact form" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-10-25 300+ → 200+ down after 10 days in tier
- 2025-10-15 200+ → 300+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-10-13 300+ → 200+ down after 524 days in tier
- 2024-05-07 400+ → 300+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-05-06 300+ → 400+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-05-05 400+ → 300+ down after 409 days in tier
- 2023-03-23 500+ → 400+ down after 170 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 1K+ → 500+ down
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).
-
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags A -
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags A -
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags B -
SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A -
Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags A -
Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Visual Form Builder – Custom Validation Messages into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/vfb-custom-validation-messages" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Visual Form Builder – Custom Validation Messages — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Visual Form Builder – Custom Validation Messages: 200+ active installs, 4.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/vfb-custom-validation-messages
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