61
Read More Without Refresh
A simple text toggler that occasionally decides to advertise in your dashboard.
HealthyGrowing
61/100
The plugin performs its core task but suffers from poor documentation and a concerning update that injected admin ads.
Active installs
~25,000
our estimate · wp.org shows 20k+
Rating
4.2★
55 ratings
Trend · vs a year ago
+33%
Growing fast
39 → 52 installs/day
Downloads over time
real new installs per day · release spikes shown separately from the trend2025-04-302025-08-082025-11-162026-02-232026-06-03
organicrelease spikerelease tailorganic trend · 14d rolling median
Growing fast · +33% in the last year
39/day a year ago→52/day today
Reviews
what people actually sayRead More Without Refresh is a niche plugin that delivers on its core promise of toggling hidden text without a page reload, but it is held back by poor documentation, layout-breaking bugs, compatibility issues with modern PHP and page builders, and at least one update that injected admin spam/ads.
What people like
- +Core functionality works as advertised for hiding and revealing text or images without a page refresh×7
- +Useful for long or complex articles where detail can be tucked away×3
- +Support was responsive when contacted×2
- +Works with the Classic Editor×2
- +Some basic customisation available in settings (text color, background color, padding, custom button labels)×2
Common complaints
- −Poor documentation — shortcode is hard to find, no clear step-by-step instructions, and users repeatedly had to figure out a non-obvious 'save settings first' workaround before the plugin would function×5
- −An update introduced spam/ad pop-ups on all WordPress admin pages that could not be dismissed×2
- −Breaks site layout in some cases — reported to push sidebars to the bottom of the page×2
- −Compatibility issues with modern PHP versions cause the plugin to break sites
- −Does not work with WPBakery page builder — actively removes the extended text from the page
- −Gutenberg/block editor support is unreliable; shortcode does not work in standard block types
- −Plugin stopped working entirely after a WordPress core update
- −No transparent background color option in settings
- −Toggle state appears inverted — 'read more' label shows when text is visible, 'read less' shows when it is hidden
- −No paid/pro tier, raising concerns about long-term maintenance and reliability
Review trustReviews look organic
- 4.16★Verified rating — holds steady vs the raw 4.20★
- 7%One-shot reviewers — most reviewers are active community members
Reviews per month · 5★ vs lower
2023-09-182025-02-092026-06-04
5★ reviews1–4★ reviews
All-time ratings · 55 total
Latest reviews · 55 analyzed
- 2026-05-25★★★★★Excellent Tooldries770
- 2026-01-10★★★★★I works butbugscout
- 2025-06-30★★★★★Doesnt work with WPBakery Text blocksgarmatinc
- 2025-04-18★★★★★Yea, it breaks a site quite well.rdnard
- 2024-08-12★★★★★Works as it is supposed to, nice plugin!LogoLogics
- 2024-05-16★★★★★It broke my sidebarkislany
- 2024-01-29★★★★★Unfortunately not workingjjaakkee
- 2023-09-24★★★★★Works perfectlyscirceo
- 2023-09-14★★★★★Stopped working with WordPress UpdateLCarter869
- 2023-05-11★★★★★Lightweight, just what I needed!Jimmy Lee
Releases
recent versions from WordPress.org SVNFor developers & the curious
the raw signals behind the grade — none of this is on the friendly summary aboveDownload signals
Baselines are computed on organic days only — release spikes and their tails are excluded, so they're not inflated by the auto-update wave.
45
Baseline · median of last 7 organic days
52
Prior 7-day baseline
39
Floor · 25th percentile over 14 days
42
Latest day · 2026-06-03(organic)
-13.5%
Week-over-week organic trend
Review signals
Concentration and drive-by metrics drive the review-burst and fake-review flags. 30–40% solo reviewers is normal; we only flag the extremes.
11%
Max month share · biggest single 30-day window
1.67
Distribution CV · <0.6 even, >1.5 bursty
75%
5★ share in analyzed sample
7%
Solo reviewers · only this one wp.org activity
—
Volume velocity · last 6mo vs prior 6mo
4.22 → 4.16★
Sample avg · raw → solo-filtered