WP Link Preview
by Kishan · Social
Display a preview for a URL similar to sharing a link on Facebook.
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 49/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews · Open vulnerability
Active installs
500+
≈550 estimated
Momentum
+6%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “facebook link preview”, “link excerpt” and “link preview” 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.
49 health vs 58 average across 1,835 Social plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.0%
of downloads still active
At least 500 of 16.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Social plugin keeps 0.5%, across 1,276 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Social 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 8+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.35, 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 3046 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.9.35; the current branch is 6.8
4.8★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.15★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3046 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| facebook link preview your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| link excerpt your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| link preview your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| link teaser your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| share link your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 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
- “facebook link preview”, “link excerpt” and “link preview” 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 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
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
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
8.3y ago
latest release · v1.4.1 · 30 Jun 2018
5
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 “500+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 8 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 24 Nov 2017
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Jurko Chervony8.4y ago
Not work with cyrillic symbols
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dcisbusy8.7y ago
This was exactly what I was looking for to post links to a blog by email, using the WP Link Preview shortcode. There are a few little issues, like ” showing up as ?, but these are not a problem for me. Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ footballfan1418.9y ago
This plugin works fine for me. I had to edit my .conf file on my DigitalOcean droplet since I am using Content Security Policies, so the images would show up. Here is the post that I tried with the plugin. https://appsbytravis.com/adobe-spark-first-creation/. If I am not allowed to post links, let me know, as this is my first review for a plugin, so yea. 🙂 This topic was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by footballfan141. Reason: edited to add info on content security policy
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ lefantasiedinephtys9.4y ago
The plugin works fine almost 100% and I’m happy about it, because I’ve been searching for something like this for a long time. Sometimes it does not import images from the link, but probably it depends from the sites I link. Good job 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence Intelligence1 open vulnerability affects the current version (1.4.1). 0 of 1 disclosed are patched.
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 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
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 25 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Display a preview for a URL similar to sharing a link on Facebook."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 1 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Installation Instructions").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Facebook.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 343 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 5 tags appear in the text ("facebook link preview", "link excerpt", "link teaser", "share link" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-03-18 600+ → 500+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-03-16 500+ → 600+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-03-13 600+ → 500+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-12 500+ → 600+ up after 9 days in tier
- 2026-03-03 600+ → 500+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-03-01 500+ → 600+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-02-27 600+ → 500+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-02-26 500+ → 600+ up after 1 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).
-
Visual Link Preview 10K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A -
Bookmark Card 700+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag B -
Public Preview URL Manager 200+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag B -
Activity Link Preview For BuddyPress 100+ installs · 3.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
Custom Card Link – OGP Blog Card Block 20+ installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag -
4Site ShareThumb – Branded Social Preview OG Image Plugin 20+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP Link Preview into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-link-preview" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP Link Preview — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP Link Preview: 500+ active installs, 4.8★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-link-preview
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