Bitly's WordPress Plugin
by bitlydeveloper · Uncategorized
Create short links to your content with Bitly’s WordPress Plugin.
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 74/100
Open vulnerability
Active installs
2K+
≈2.5K estimated
Momentum
+11%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “custom domain” and “url” for “shorten” and “shorten url”. “custom domain” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “shorten” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “url” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “shorten url” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
74 health vs 58 average across 25,738 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.4%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 146.3K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,770 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 2 releases 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
Well tuned across the board
Updated 236 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.7.11; the current branch is 6.8
4.2★ over 23 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
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.
42
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
+0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 26d
25%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 26d
+0.3
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| bitly your tag | #2 | #5 | 0 |
| shortener your tag | #24 | #20 | — |
| shortlink your tag | #24 | #22 | — |
| shorten | #15 | #17 | up 1 |
| shorten url | #24 | #17 | 0 |
| custom domain your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| url your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
9 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 5 listed. 4 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “custom domain” and “url” for “shorten” and “shorten url”. “custom domain” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “shorten” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “url” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “shorten url” sits at #24 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 3.2K · 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.
2
releases in the last 12 months
8mo ago
latest release · v2.8.1 · 10 Mar 2026
33
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 53% 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 “2K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 19 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 1 May 2021
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 2.8.1 Version 2.8.1 release. 2.8.1
- — Version 2.8.0 Security Updates. Fixes WordPress coding standards. 2.8.0
- — Version 2.7.4 Fixed nonce verification on disconnected Enforce capability check for authorized user operations Escape all output to prevent XSS 2.7.4
- — Version 2.7.3 Security update. 2.7.3
- — Version 2.7.2 Security update. Various additional minor fixes. 2.7.2
- — Version 2.7.1 Updated to prevent short link generation when a post is viewed on the frontend, or edited (but not re-saved) on the backend. 2.7.1
Security history
via Wordfence Intelligence1 open vulnerability affects the current version (2.8.1). 3 of 4 disclosed are patched.
- 2025-09-22 CVE-2025-58231 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.7.4 No patch available
- Patched Medium · 6.4 Bitly's WordPress Plugin <= 2.7.1 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Shortcode ↗2023-11-06 CVE-2023-5577 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.7.1 Patched in 2.7.2
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 8 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
1 of 8 pass · checked 31 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Create short links to your content with Bitly’s WordPress Plugin."
- ! 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 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 641 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 5 tags appear in the text ("custom domain", "shortener", "shortlink", "url" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-04-16 3K+ → 2K+ down after 335 days in tier
- 2024-05-16 5K+ → 3K+ down after 1132 days in tier
- 2021-04-10 4K+ → 5K+ up after 40 days in tier
- 2021-03-01 6K+ → 4K+ down after 1028 days in tier
- 2018-05-08 5K+ → 6K+ up after 96 days in tier
- 2018-02-01 6K+ → 5K+ down after 184 days in tier
- 2017-08-01 5K+ → 6K+ up after 503 days in tier
- 2016-03-16 4K+ → 5K+ up
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).
- B Bitly URL Generator 10+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
-
short.io 100+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags C - G Get Shortlinks 90+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
- U URL Shortener 80+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Shortener URL Redirect 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags - G GentleSource Short URL 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Bitly's WordPress Plugin into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-bitly" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Bitly's WordPress Plugin — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Bitly's WordPress Plugin: 2K+ active installs, 4.2★ (23 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-bitly
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