WP_Places
by Gary Kovar · Uncategorized
Also makes 6 other plugins · 50+ installs across the portfolio →
WP_Places populates up-to-the-minute information about almost any location or business. Display address, phone number, hours of operation, and website …
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 48/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
10+
≈15 estimated
Momentum
+100%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “business information”, “google places” and “google places api web services” 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.
48 health vs 58 average across 25,738 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.2%
of downloads still active
At least 10 of 4.9K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,771 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.
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 2943 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.9.35; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 9 reviews, smoothed to 4.24★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2943 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| business information your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| google places your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| google places api web services your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| location 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
- “business information”, “google places” and “google places api web services” 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 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 76 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #30,100 to #45,000, alongside the other plugins at 10+ 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 21 Oct 2026.
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
8.1y ago
latest release · v2.1.2 · 11 Oct 2018
33
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 “10+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 13 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 Jul 2017
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ mahsarhan7.6y ago
Amazing plugin
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ hwuser7.8y ago
Excellent plugin, it works very well and saves you a lot of time by not having to copy all the google data in your post. In addition, you will always have your web updated, with address, phone, hours etc … An improvement would be to save the data in wp and this data will be updated every 15 or 30 days. When someone enters the post, they take the saved data, and if it has been stored for more than 30 days they are taken by Google with the API, and if less than 30 days ago they are saved, they do not consult google and show the saved data, so you avoid that every time someone enters the post you use the google API that with many queries is paid. Many thanks!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jfarley8.5y ago
Thank you for making this plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ nudone10.0y ago
After searching for plugins that might help with “Google My Business” details and finding nothing suitable I was losing all hope. A bit more reading lead me to realise I needed “Google Places” data instead – but there was still the problem of having to learn about the API to obtain the correct data from a json file. Again, I started to lose all hope as the api stuff seemed far too complicated. The solution – this plugin “WP_Places”. Thanks for creating it Gary.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ tagsdomino10.5y ago
Great – does what it says on the tin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dis-annie10.6y ago
This is an amazing little plugin! Very easy to use with simple shortcodes. I use it on my business websites, and how great to be able to show at a glance that the business is currently open. It’s also nice that it brings in the Google Places information, not just something hardcoded. It forces me to keep Google Places up-to-date. Thanks!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ bartdyer10.7y ago
I only use the shortcodes, but this tool has been flawless for me. I had one issue, which really wasn’t an issues but a request I had, I contacted the dev and he resolved within 24 hours. Great tool superior support.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ FAHIM AKHTAR10.8y ago
So far so good
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 1 language, 1 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 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "WP_Places populates up-to-the-minute information about almost any location or business. Display address, ph..."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! 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 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,971 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 2 of 4 tags appear in the text; "Business Information", "Google Places API Web Services" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-09-24 20+ → 10+ down after 60 days in tier
- 2025-07-26 10+ → 20+ up after 9 days in tier
- 2025-07-17 20+ → 10+ down after 485 days in tier
- 2024-03-19 30+ → 20+ down after 195 days in tier
- 2023-09-06 20+ → 30+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2023-09-03 30+ → 20+ down after 216 days in tier
- 2023-01-30 40+ → 30+ down after 118 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 50+ → 40+ down after 433 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).
- W WPCheckin Widget and Shortcode — installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Post to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) 10K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Weather Atlas Widget 8K+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag C -
Reviews Block for Google 1K+ installs · 3.5★ · 1 shared tag D -
If-So Conditional Content for Elementor 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP_Places into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-places" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP_Places — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP_Places: 10+ active installs, 5.0★ (9 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-places
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