Visual Term Description Editor
by Shea Bunge · Uncategorized
Also makes 6 other plugins · 11.5K+ installs across the portfolio →
Replaces the plain-text category and tag description editor with a visual editor.
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
C 58/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
10K+
≈15K estimated
Momentum
+27%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “categories” and “rich text” for “term description” and “smilies”. “categories” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “term description” sits at #11 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “rich text” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “smilies” sits at #17 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
58 health vs 58 average across 25,735 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →9.7%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 102.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,765 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
28/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Not actively maintained. No update in about 2 years.
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 805 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.6.11; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 21 reviews, smoothed to 4.37★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
0 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Last updated 805 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| term description | #11 | #16 | down 1 |
| smilies | #17 | #10 | 0 |
| categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| rich text your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| tags your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| tinymce your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| wysiwyg your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 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
- Swap “categories” and “rich text” for “term description” and “smilies”. “categories” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “term description” sits at #11 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “rich text” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “smilies” sits at #17 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.8K · 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
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
2.2y ago
latest release · v1.8.1 · 17 Aug 2024
12
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 98% 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 “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 6 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 9 Dec 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Daniel1.7y ago
I Have still pages with the old themes and this is really useful for adding text on the category pages. This topic was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by Daniel.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Hugh Lashbrooke3.2y ago
Great plugin to allow you to make your term descriptions more visually appealing. It works just fine with WP 6.3 in lieu of implementing the block editor for term descriptions.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ marcomassimo4.0y ago
Very simple and useful
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Verdi Heinz4.1y ago
You cannot help but love the simplicity. Can a code Snippet do this as well?
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jayson Garcia5.2y ago
This plugin is very helpful specially for those client user who want to use the classic editor. Hope to update and maintain this plugin. Thank you.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Howdy_McGee5.6y ago
No settings to configure. Works as expected out of the box. Easy Peasy 5 stars.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Maciej Laskowski7.5y ago
Works as expected with minimum code
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mstudioIL8.4y ago
Exactly what I needed, only if it was all ready integrate
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.8.1 Prevented console error when trying to clear editor content. 1.8.1
- — Version 1.8.0 Fixed: prevent description from persisting in editor field after adding a new term [ # ] Fixed: always load underscore as a dependency of the word count script 1.8.0
- — Version 1.7.0 Added compatibility with qTranslate-X 1.7.0
- — Version 1.6.0 Disabled evaluation of shortcodes in the administration area Constrained image widths in description administration column 1.6.0
- — Version 1.5.0 Fixed action hooked to wrong method Added word count feature to visual editor Added a warning and graceful recovery if plugin is used on PHP 1.5.0
- — Version 1.4.2 Update field HTML to match what is used in WordPress 4.5 1.4.2
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 3 languages, 2 at 90% or more
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
3 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 "Replaces the plain-text category and tag description editor with a visual editor."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("use it"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Multisite.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 609 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "wysiwyg" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-04-28 20K+ → 10K+ down after 62 days in tier
- 2026-02-25 10K+ → 20K+ up after 30 days in tier
- 2026-01-26 20K+ → 10K+ down after 38 days in tier
- 2025-12-19 10K+ → 20K+ up after 50 days in tier
- 2025-10-30 20K+ → 10K+ down after 232 days in tier
- 2025-03-12 10K+ → 20K+ up after 110 days in tier
- 2024-11-22 20K+ → 10K+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2024-11-20 10K+ → 20K+ up after 3 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).
-
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Media Library Assistant 70K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A - P Post Tags and Categories for Pages 20K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags B
-
Essential Widgets 10K+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags B - A Advanced TinyMCE Configuration 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Widget Content Blocks 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Visual Term Description Editor into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/visual-term-description-editor" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Visual Term Description Editor — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Visual Term Description Editor: 10K+ active installs, 5.0★ (21 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/visual-term-description-editor
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