WP Site Verification tool
by Paul Bearne · Uncategorized
Also makes 5 other plugins · 5K+ installs across the portfolio →
A tool to enable verification of site ownership via file or meta tag.
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 78/100
Few reviews
Active installs
1K+
≈1.5K estimated
Momentum
+20%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “webmaster” and “tool” for “verification” and “static site”. “webmaster” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “verification” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “tool” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “static site” sits at #14 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
78 health vs 58 average across 25,736 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.2%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 31.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,764 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
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 163 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.0, the current branch or newer
3.7★ over 6 reviews, smoothed to 4.06★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
39
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
21%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+0.2
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| site verification your tag | #4 | #15 | 0 |
| verification | #7 | #18 | 0 |
| certification your tag | #8 | #16 | up 2 |
| vip your tag | #9 | #18 | down 2 |
| webmasters verification meta | #4 | #11 | 0 |
| static site generator | #12 | #18 | down 2 |
| static site | #14 | #22 | 0 |
| webmaster tools | #11 | #20 | 0 |
| webmaster your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
20 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 8 listed. 12 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “webmaster” and “tool” for “verification” and “static site”. “webmaster” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “verification” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “tool” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #20. “static site” sits at #14 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 1.2K · 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
5mo ago
latest release · v1.0.10 · 21 May 2026
11
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 “1K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.7 years 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 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ 3WT10.0y ago
Weak plugin. It allows you to do just one verification. This topic was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by 3WT.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ toma-tomsk10.3y ago
After long unsucessfull attempts to add meta for yandex and pinterest I was happy to find this plugin which has a very light interface and works great! Thank you! Tamara
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Erida11.9y ago
Thank you for the plugin, as for me, it’s really the best one for verification! And I have an improvement idea: I’d like to add not one but 2 and more files in case if I need to verify 2 and more services at the same site (i.e. Google and Trustwave). And Google can be veryfied by file but Trustwave by meta tag 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Paul Bearne12.6y ago
It does what it says on the tin and nothing else
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ julitasoup13.1y ago
I attempted to install this plugin multiple times and was hopeful that it would function properly; it is the only one I found on search that did what I needed it to do and had a very recent update only 3 weeks ago. Unfortunately, each time I tried to install, it returned a fatal error. I clear my browser cache, tried it in different browsers, all to no avail. I am disappointed and hope it gets fixed as it looked to be a very useful plugin. As it is now, it is completely useless.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ liton198013.1y ago
As many websites need verification, this plugin is so helpful to make it easy. Thanks for developing it.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
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 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A tool to enable verification of site ownership via file or meta tag."
- ! 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 ("Pull requests").
- ! 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 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 1,014 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "vip" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-02-05 2K+ → 1K+ down after 22 days in tier
- 2024-01-14 3K+ → 2K+ down after 12 days in tier
- 2024-01-02 4K+ → 3K+ down after 8 days in tier
- 2023-12-25 5K+ → 4K+ down after 12 days in tier
- 2023-12-13 6K+ → 5K+ down after 4 days in tier
- 2023-12-09 7K+ → 6K+ down after 12 days in tier
- 2023-11-27 8K+ → 7K+ down after 30 days in tier
- 2023-10-28 7K+ → 8K+ up after 7 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).
-
Transients Manager 20K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag C -
Foxtool All-in-One: Contact chat button, Custom login, Media optimize images 7K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
Cron Logger 1K+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag A -
Remove Admin Bar logo 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag B -
PressPrimer Certificate – Certificate Designer & Course Certification for Your LMS 300+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag B - A Asset Queue Manager 200+ installs · 4.3★ · 1 shared tag D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP Site Verification tool into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-site-verification-tool" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP Site Verification tool — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP Site Verification tool: 1K+ active installs, 3.7★ (6 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-site-verification-tool
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