Plugin profile · observed daily since 02 Aug 2026
User Role Widget Areas
Active installs10+ rounded
Current authorRob Smelik
Owner changesNone while we have been watching
Last release10 years ago 24 Oct 2015
Support— no recent threads
Releases on record4
Rating3.7 /5 · 3
Added to directory05 Mar 2015
Requires WP3.9
Requires PHPfalse
Version lag2.8 behind
Tested up toWP 4.3.34 WordPress is now on 7.1
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 Rob Smelik 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Smelik | 4 | 05 Mar 2015 | 24 Oct 2015 |
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 early-stage: 10+ active installs. Too few installs to read anything into adoption. That is a gap in the evidence, not a mark against the plugin.
2 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 11/day29 Aug 2026
Install band fell to 10+ on 08 Aug 2026, from 20+. Both figures are rounded to one significant digit, so the size of the change is not knowable from them.
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 | 16 Aug | 17 Aug | 18 Aug | 19 Aug | 20 Aug | 21 Aug | 22 Aug | 23 Aug | 24 Aug | 25 Aug | 26 Aug | 27 Aug | 28 Aug | 29 Aug |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downloads that day | — | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
Unchanged throughout: ratings total (3) · active installs (10+) · version (1.4) · support threads (0) · threads resolved (0)
28 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 directory11 years ago 05 Mar 2015
Requires WP3.9
Requires PHPfalse
Version lag2.8 behind
Is anyone still maintaining this?
- No release in 3,962 days (10.9 years). The last was 24 Oct 2015.
- Declares compatibility only up to WordPress 4.3.34, while 7.1 is current. The author has not confirmed it runs on the last 28 releases.
- The same account maintains 3 other plugins, and none has been updated in over a year, the most recent on 30 Oct 2015.
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.
- 07 Aug 202622 days agoInstall band moved to 20+Bands are rounded to one significant digit, so the size of the change is not knowable.
- 02 Aug 202627 days agoInstall band moved to 10+Bands are rounded to one significant digit, so the size of the change is not knowable.
- 02 Aug 202627 days 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.
- 16 Apr 20179 years agoDormancy threshold crossed540 days since the last release (2015-10-24). Dormancy is a maintenance observation, not a judgement about the owner.
- 24 Oct 201510 years agoVersion 1.4 released
- 16 Oct 201510 years agoVersion 1.3 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by Rob Smelik.
- 05 Mar 201511 years agoVersion 1.1 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by Rob Smelik.
- 05 Mar 201511 years agoVersion 1.2 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by Rob Smelik.
- 05 Mar 201511 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 Rob Smelik for all 28 days we have observed it.
- It was last released 10 years ago (24 Oct 2015).
- Its author declares it tested up to WordPress 4.3.34; WordPress is now on 7.1.
- WordPress.org reports 10+ active installs.
- It carries 3 ratings, averaging 3.7 out of 5.
What we don’t know yet
- No forum threads were open in the two months we measure, so how responsive its support is cannot be said. One new thread starts answering that.
What can’t be known
- Whether the quiet is neglect or a finished plugin. That is the author’s intent, which no dataset records, and a stable plugin can need no changes for years.
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
This plugin has not been updated in a long time. These carry the same tags and describe themselves in the same terms, so they are a starting point for a replacement, not a recommendation. Check them yourself.
User Role Editor
User Role Editor WordPress plugin makes user roles and capabilities changing easy. Edit/add/delete WordPress user roles and capabilities.
700,000+ installs4.5★ (288)updated 25 Aug 2026
Compare side by side Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager
Flexible sidebars for custom classic widget configurations on any page or post. Create custom sidebars with ease!
100,000+ installs4.7★ (1,028)updated 16 Aug 2026
Compare side by side 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 Role Based Redirect
Redirect users after login/logout by role. Optionally hide admin bar and block dashboard access for selected roles.
2,000+ installs4.8★ (17)updated 18 Jul 2025
Compare side by side Simple Client Dashboard
Restrict permissions with Simple Client Dashboard. Our new "Admin" user role between Administrator and Editor is perfect for clients and Webmasters.
2,000+ installs4.5★ (26)updated 30 Apr 2026
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
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 User Role Widget Areas: a person reads every submission, and corrections get a reply within 5 business days.