Plugin profile · observed daily since 02 Aug 2026
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager
Active installs100,000+ rounded
Current authorWebFactory
Owner changesNone while we have been watching
Last release22 days ago 16 Aug 2026
Support1 / 1 resolved, last 2 months
Releases on record33
Rating4.7 /5 · 1,028
Added to directory23 Aug 2010
Requires WP4.6
Requires PHP5.6
Version lag0 up to date
Tested up toWP 7.1 up to date
PluginPedia reports published data and observable changes. It does not rate plugin quality or safety, infer intent, or make recommendations. These are observations rather than a verdict. How this works
Ownership
Held by WebFactory throughout, with no change of ownership observed since daily tracking began on 02 Aug 2026.
Full observed history, including every field transition
Committing accounts
Read from the plugin’s public release log, so these predate this registry. A committing account is not an owner. Thirty accounts commit to WooCommerce and it has never changed hands.
| Account | Releases | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| iworks | 21 | 06 Mar 2017 | 18 Feb 2019 |
| jdailey | 3 | 17 Mar 2017 | 05 Feb 2018 |
| rickjc89 | 1 | 19 Nov 2020 | 19 Nov 2020 |
| vanyukov | 1 | 07 Dec 2020 | 07 Dec 2020 |
| WebFactory | 7 | 14 Jan 2021 | 21 May 2026 |
This registry did not observe a transfer; it read these names off a public log. Whether that reflects a change of ownership is not something the directory publishes.
Adoption
How widely the plugin is installed, and what the people running it think of it. WordPress.org rounds install figures to one significant digit, so they describe an order of magnitude rather than a headcount.
Very widely adopted: 100,000+ active installs. In the top tier of the directory by install count.
160 downloads a day over the last 7 days, steady against the 7 days before. Downloads are counted exactly and without a ceiling, so they show movement the rounded install figure cannot.
08 Aug 2026peak 269/day07 Sep 2026
Daily record
Every field we record, one column per observation. Fields that never moved are named once rather than repeated across every column. A row of identical numbers would be padding.
| Field | 25 Aug | 26 Aug | 27 Aug | 28 Aug | 29 Aug | 30 Aug | 31 Aug | 01 Sep | 02 Sep | 03 Sep | 04 Sep | 05 Sep | 06 Sep | 07 Sep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downloads that day | — | 201 | 0 | 269 | 187 | 172 | 133 | 106 | 227 | 144 | 201 | 183 | 129 | 129 |
Unchanged throughout: ratings total (1,028) · active installs (100,000+) · version (3.38) · support threads (1) · threads resolved (1)
37 days of observation, most recent 14 shown.
Maintenance
When it was last released, and how far its declared compatibility has drifted from current WordPress.
Added to directory16 years ago 23 Aug 2010
Requires WP4.6
Requires PHP5.6
Version lagcurrent
Is anyone still maintaining this?
- Last released 16 Aug 2026, 22 days ago.
- Declares compatibility with WordPress 7.1, which is current.
- 1 of 1 support threads answered in the last two months.
- The same account maintains 27 other plugins, 27 of which were updated in the last 90 days. the account is active.
A plugin that does one thing correctly may need no changes for years; a long gap is not, by itself, evidence of neglect.
History
Everything dated that this registry holds about the plugin, most recent first. Releases carry the author’s own release date; everything else is dated to when it was observed.
Entries marked from the release log predate this registry, and daily observation began 02 Aug 2026. They were read from the plugin’s public SVN history after the fact, not watched as they happened. Everything else was observed directly.
- 16 Aug 202622 days agoVersion 3.38 released
- 02 Aug 20261 month agoFirst observed by PluginPediaDaily snapshots of this plugin’s directory record begin here. Everything above this line is observed; anything before it comes from fields the API itself reports.
- 01 Mar 202518 months agoVersion 3.37 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by WebFactory.
- 25 Feb 202518 months agoVersion 3.36 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by WebFactory.
- 25 May 20224 years agoVersion 3.35 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by WebFactory.
- 28 Jul 20215 years agoVersion 3.32 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by WebFactory.
- 10 Jun 20215 years agoVersion 3.31 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by WebFactory.
- 14 Jan 20215.5 years agoVersion 3.3 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by WebFactory.
- 07 Dec 20205.5 years agoVersion 3.2.4 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by vanyukov.
- 19 Nov 20205.5 years agoVersion 3.2.3 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by rickjc89.
- 18 Feb 20197.5 years agoVersion 3.2.2 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by iworks.
- 22 Aug 20188 years agoVersion 3.2.1 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by iworks.
- 20 Aug 20188 years agoVersion 3.2.0 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by iworks.
- 11 Jun 20188 years agoVersion 3.1.6 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by iworks.
- 06 Mar 20179.5 years ago20 earlier releasesfrom the release logBetween 06 Mar 2017 and 21 May 2018. Listed individually in the public release log rather than here.
- 23 Aug 201016 years agoAdded to the WordPress.org directoryReported by the plugin API as the date this plugin was added.
What we know, and what we don’t
Everything on this page in one place, including the gaps, so that nothing here is mistaken for a clean bill of health.
What we know
- It has been held by WebFactory for all 37 days we have observed it.
- It was last released 22 days ago (16 Aug 2026).
- Its author declares it tested up to WordPress 7.1, which is current.
- WordPress.org reports 100,000+ active installs.
- It carries 1,028 ratings, averaging 4.7 out of 5.
- 1 of 1 support threads in the last two months are marked resolved.
Every record on this site, this one included, works under the same limits. We read what WordPress.org publishes about a plugin, never the plugin’s own code, so nothing here says whether a plugin is well built or safe. Install counts reach us already rounded; a change smaller than a band step doesn’t show. We don’t track security advisories yet. For anything older than our first observation we rely on the plugin’s public release log, where one exists. What this registry can and cannot see
Similar plugins
Plugins that share this one’s tags and talk about the same things in their own descriptions. Distinctive tags count for far more than broad ones. Sharing hover means something, sharing woocommerce does not, and a plugin that never mentions the subject matter is left out however its author tagged it. Among close matches, more widely installed plugins are listed first. This is a grouping rather than a ranking of quality.
Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin
Display new sidebars on any post, page, category etc. Works with Classic Widgets, Block Widgets, and all themes!
30,000+ installs4.9★ (724)updated 09 Dec 2025
Compare side by side SMK Sidebar Generator
Create unlimited custom sidebars and widget areas. Display different sidebars on specific pages, posts, or custom post types with conditional logic.
10,000+ installs4.4★ (5)updated 17 Feb 2026
far fewer installs
Compare side by side Classic Widgets
Enables the previous "classic" widgets settings screens in Appearance - Widgets and the Customizer. Disables the block editor from managing widgets.
2,000,000+ installs4.9★ (272)updated 08 Dec 2025
20× the installs
Compare side by side Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets
Widget Options gives you super powers to control your site’s sidebar widgets and all Gutenberg blocks on pages, posts & other custom post types.
100,000+ installs4.9★ (1,516)updated 26 May 2026
Compare side by side Classic Editor +
The "Classic Editor +" plugin disables the block editor, removes enqueued scripts/styles and brings back classic Widgets.
40,000+ installs4.9★ (31)updated 16 Aug 2026
Compare side by side Classic Editor and Classic Widgets
Disables Gutenberg editor totally everywhere and enables Classic Editor and Classic Widgets.
20,000+ installs5.0★ (5)updated 19 Aug 2026
Compare side by side Grouped from the tags each author chose for their own plugin, so the grouping is only as good as those tags.
Reach out about this record
Corrections, missing context, or anything else about Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager: a person reads every submission, and corrections get a reply within 5 business days.