75
WP Extended Search
Giving your default search bar a much needed intelligence boost.
Declining
75/100
This lightweight tool reliably expands WordPress search to include custom fields and taxonomies.
Active installs
~25,000
our estimate · wp.org shows 20k+
Rating
4.9★
72 ratings
Trend · vs a year ago
-49%
Declining fast
119 → 61 installs/day
What to watch out for
- MINORreviews unevenly distributed over time
- MINORdownloads down 49% vs a year ago
- MINORnot updated in 6 months
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
Declining fast · -49% in the last year
119/day a year ago→61/day today
Reviews
what people actually sayWP Extended Search is well-regarded as a simple, powerful drop-in enhancement for WordPress's default search, with broad support for custom post types, fields, and taxonomies, though customization options for the search button and UI are limited without extra effort.
What people like
- +Works reliably as a straightforward enhancement to WordPress's default search×5
- +Supports custom post types, custom fields, and custom taxonomies×3
- +Easy to set up with no coding required×3
- +Integrates seamlessly with existing WordPress themes
Common complaints
- −Lack of documentation makes it difficult for some users to get started
- −Limited customization options for the search button (text, icon, color) without workarounds or extra coding
- −Individual settings for taxonomies and tags must be manually enabled, which can cause confusion about whether the plugin is working
Review trustMostly organic
- 4.87★Verified rating — holds steady vs the raw 4.90★
- 4%One-shot reviewers — most reviewers are active community members
- past spikeReview timing — up to 30% of all reviews landed in a single month
Reviews per month · 5★ vs lower
2023-10-182025-02-092026-06-04
5★ reviews1–4★ reviews
All-time ratings · 72 total
Latest reviews · 72 analyzed
- 2025-12-07★★★★★Fantastic plugin! Works, and works well. Bravo. 👏Mark
- 2025-04-20★★★★★Works brilliantly with Podsjames4311
- 2025-04-20★★★★★Fantastic pluginkarll10
- 2024-11-28★★★★★Great plugin!iggypomp
- 2024-11-28★★★★★Works SUPERbestwin
- 2024-05-28★★★★★Awesome plugin!Julian Muslia
- 2024-04-13★★★★★Just used it and it works great!James Smeaton
- 2023-10-06★★★★★Nice extension to WP searchmaazes1-shot
- 2023-09-29★★★★★Works PerfectlyOliver Campion
- 2023-09-19★★★★★Didn't understandAndrew
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.
59
Baseline · median of last 7 organic days
68
Prior 7-day baseline
37
Floor · 25th percentile over 14 days
59
Latest day · 2026-06-03(organic)
-13.2%
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.
30%
Max month share · biggest single 30-day window
2.37
Distribution CV · <0.6 even, >1.5 bursty
93%
5★ share in analyzed sample
4%
Solo reviewers · only this one wp.org activity
—
Volume velocity · last 6mo vs prior 6mo
4.86 → 4.87★
Sample avg · raw → solo-filtered