Best reference plugins for WordPress
The most popular reference plugins for WordPress in November 2026, in WordPress.org’s own popular order, which follows active installs. Footnotes Made Easy leads with 2K+ active installs, ahead of BibleLink Multilingual (300+) and Blank Footnotes (300+). All 22 plugins tagged “reference” are below, with figures from WordPress.org that update every day.
Installs aren’t everything: a recent release, a “Tested up to” that matches the current WordPress, and support threads that get resolved show a plugin is looked after. Open any plugin for its downloads, rank history and alternatives.
Research this niche or see all plugins.
Top 10 reference plugins
- 1.
Footnotes Made EasyThe most installed reference plugin, with 2K+ active installs. Rated 4.6 from 40 reviews, updated 1 day ago.
- 2.
BibleLink Multilingual300+ active installs. Rated 5.0 from 6 reviews, updated 4 months ago.
- 3.
Blank Footnotes300+ active installs. Rated 5.0 from 6 reviews, updated 1 month ago.
- 4.
IvyCat AJAX Testimonials200+ active installs. Rated 4.5 from 16 reviews, last updated 11 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.2.39.
- 5.
CM Footnotes100+ active installs. Rated 4.2 from 6 reviews, updated 3 weeks ago.
- 6.Cite
100+ active installs. Rated 4.5 from 15 reviews, last updated 11 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.7.39.
- 7.Footnotes & Content
100+ active installs. Rated 5.0 from 5 reviews, updated 1 month ago.
- 8.Shortcode Reference
100+ active installs. Rated 3.4 from 7 reviews, last updated 4 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.8.19.
- 9.bib.ly
60+ active installs. Only 2 reviews so far, last updated 15 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 3.2.0.
- 10.
CitePress50+ active installs. No reviews yet, updated 1 month ago.
All 22 plugins tagged “reference”

Footnotes Made Easy
Up in the last 7 days:5#4,283by Patrick Lumumba1 day ago
Allows post authors to easily add and manage footnotes in posts and pages.
- Installs
- 2K+
- Rating
- 4.6(40)
- Downloads
- 27/day

BibleLink Multilingual
Down in the last 7 days:31#10,086by GlobalRize4 months ago
This lightweight plugin makes Bible references on your website interactive and supports multiple languages.
- Installs
- 300+
- Rating
- 5.0(6)
- Downloads
- 11/day

Blank Footnotes
Up in the last 7 days:10#10,403by Corrado Franco1 month ago
Simple plugin to show footnotes using markdown notation.
- Installs
- 300+
- Rating
- 5.0(6)
- Downloads
- 11/day

IvyCat AJAX Testimonials
Down in the last 7 days:18#11,357by ivycat11 years ago
Easily add rotating or static testimonials to your website. Testimonials can be categorized and rotated dynamically via AJAX or on page load.
- Installs
- 200+
- Rating
- 4.5(16)
- Downloads
- 0/day

CM Footnotes
Down in the last 7 days:34#15,255by CreativeMindsSolutions26 days ago
Add and manage footnotes, citations, and bibliography with this footnotes Plugin. Improve clarity and provide references.
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- 4.2(6)
- Downloads
- 11/day
Cite
#15,549by Maeve Lander11 years ago
Help readers know how to cite your article correctly
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- 4.5(15)
- Downloads
- 0/day
Footnotes & Content
Down in the last 7 days:2#15,758by Golemiq1 month ago
Allows post authors to easily add and manage footnotes in posts.
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- 5.0(5)
- Downloads
- 6/day
Shortcode Reference
Down in the last 7 days:50#16,726by Bart Stroeken4 years ago
This plugin will provide a list and details about available shortcodes in your current installment. All when you need it most - when editing content.
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- 3.4(7)
- Downloads
- 0/day
bib.ly
Up in the last 7 days:275#19,645by johndyer15 years ago
Finds Bible references, creates a popup with the Biblical text and links users to a page where they choose their favorite website (YouVersion, BibleGa …
- Installs
- 60+
- Rating
- 5.0(2)
- Downloads
- 0/day

CitePress
#20,441by nusagates1 month ago
Generate and display an interactive, multi-format academic citation box for WordPress posts with one-click copy and realtime style switcher.
- Installs
- 50+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day

References
#23,777by shra1 year ago
Enables post references (for any type of publications) to connect articles to each other.
- Installs
- 30+
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 0/day
NETBibleTagger
Up in the last 7 days:425#29,513by Glenn Ansley16 years ago
This plugin enables NETBibleTagger on your WordPress site.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
ACF Field Display
Down in the last 7 days:136#29,999by LTnow11 years ago
Useful addition that displays a list of all your ACF custom fields including their Label, Name, Type, and Field Group they are associated with.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- 1.0(1)
- Downloads
- 0/day
WP Client Reference
Up in the last 7 days:109#32,658by Steve Grunwell14 years ago
Create a reference guide for clients right in the WordPress administration area.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- 4.0(4)
- Downloads
- 0/day

JReferences
#33,896by janiko24 days ago
This plugin adds references and citations functionalities (in a wikipedia-like style).
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- 5.0(2)
- Downloads
- 0/day
Hierarchical Documentation
Up in the last 7 days:6,462#40,798by tombenner14 years ago
Lets admins create searchable, hierarchically-organized documentation. Supports Markdown and syntax highlighting for code. Requires WP MVC.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Get Remote URL Info
Down in the last 7 days:3,312#46,919by Oscar de Souza Dias14 years ago
Fetches information about a remote URL and adds it into the post.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
WP-Footnotes to YAFootnotes
#48,293by Maris17 years ago
Automatically changes footnote syntax from WP-Footnotes to YAFootnotes Plugin.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Reference 2 Wiki
Down in the last 7 days:8,226#48,540by flashpixx14 years ago
Creates links to Wikipedia with different languages
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day

SmartFootnotes
Down in the last 7 days:5,877#55,978by Seiken TAKAMATSU1 year ago
WordPressの投稿に脚注を簡単に追加できるプラグインです。
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Citation Note
Down in the last 7 days:322#71,221by Santosh Thapa Magar10 months ago
Easily add, manage, and display citations, references, and footnotes in posts, pages, or custom post types using a user-friendly editor interface.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day