Widget Saver
by zorgbargle · Admin & Utilities
Saves the current widget layout and allows the layout to be restored at a later date.
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 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
90+
≈99 estimated
Momentum
+50%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “admin”, “administration” and “theme” 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.
45 health vs 56 average across 5,902 Admin & Utilities plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.9%
of downloads still active
At least 90 of 10.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Admin & Utilities plugin keeps 0.6%, across 4,194 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Admin & Utilities 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 14+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.4.2, well behind 7.1.
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 5154 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.4.2; the current branch is 7.1
4.2★ over 5 reviews, smoothed to 4.11★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 5154 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| admin your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| administration your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| theme your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widgets 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
- “admin”, “administration” and “theme” 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 71 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #16,800 to #17,400, alongside the other plugins at 90+ 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
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
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
14.1y ago
latest release · v2.0.0 · 22 Sep 2012
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 “90+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago and the previous band took 2.1 years to cross, so the real count is still just under 100.
Install history since 11 Oct 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ tecvoid11.7y ago
successfully installed this on wordpress 4.1 https://github.com/alvarogois/widget-saver-update hit the download link on the right. install with the upload button, then go to your widgets screen and there will be a new box at the top to allow you to save widget configurations. hoping this will work for my multi theme- plugin switched setup. i use a plugin called multi device switcher to serve different themes to different devices, and the widgets get assigned to inactive status. sometimes this whole configuration messes up and i have to reset all the plugins in all the themes. im hoping this will save everything as a single configuration for easy fixes in the future. i will report back and assume its working unless i come back and change it.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ posword12.7y ago
This plugin no longer works under WordPress 3.8
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Landon Cahow12.8y ago
I’ve been using this plugin for a little while now and it has saved me a good deal of time. I’m noticing a minor issue now though when upgrading to 3.8 and the layout of the widget edit page is borked, hopefully this can be addressed with a quick update in the future. Great job, thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Alvaro Gois dos Santos12.9y ago
A must have when you’re trying different themes with different widget areas and don’t want to loose the widget data. Well done! Thanks.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Li-An13.9y ago
You can now test themes without loosing widgets configuration. Great plugin.
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 2 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Saves the current widget layout and allows the layout to be restored at a later date."
- ! 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 1 heading and 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,458 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 2 of 4 tags appear in the text; "admin", "administration" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-07 100+ → 90+ down after 763 days in tier
- 2024-07-05 200+ → 100+ down after 22 days in tier
- 2024-06-13 100+ → 200+ up after 11 days in tier
- 2024-06-02 200+ → 100+ down after 14 days in tier
- 2024-05-19 100+ → 200+ up after 14 days in tier
- 2024-05-05 200+ → 100+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-05-04 100+ → 200+ up after 20 days in tier
- 2024-04-14 200+ → 100+ down after 558 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).
-
All In One Favicon 60K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags C - C Cryout Serious Theme Settings 40K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B
- S SpiceBox 20K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B
- E Error Log Monitor 20K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A
-
Desert Companion 10K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B -
Widget Disable 10K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Widget Saver into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/widget-saver" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Widget Saver — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Widget Saver: 90+ active installs, 4.2★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/widget-saver
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