Best starter plugins for WordPress
The most popular starter plugins for WordPress in November 2026, in WordPress.org’s own popular order, which follows active installs. Child Theme Wizard leads with 10K+ active installs, ahead of Codegear Starter (50+) and WP30 Sky Bar (fewer than 10). All 6 plugins tagged “starter” 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 5 starter plugins
- 1.
Child Theme WizardThe most installed starter plugin, with 10K+ active installs. Rated 4.9 from 36 reviews, updated 4 months ago.
- 2.
Codegear Starter50+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 1 year ago. Tested only up to WordPress 6.6.11.
- 3.
WP30 Sky BarFewer than 10 active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 8 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.0.
- 4.
WP30 By WhoFewer than 10 active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 8 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.0.
- 5.
Codeless Cloud Starter SitesFewer than 10 active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 4 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.8.19.
All 6 plugins tagged “starter”
Child Theme Wizard
Up in the last 7 days:1#1,843by Jay Versluis4 months ago
Creates a child theme from any installed parent theme with just one click.
- Installs
- 10K+
- Rating
- 4.9(36)
- Downloads
- 61/day
Codegear Starter
Up in the last 7 days:32#20,392by codegearthemes1 year ago
Import CodeGearThemes official themes Starter site content, widgets and theme settings with just one click.
- Installs
- 50+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 11/day
WP30 Sky Bar
Down in the last 7 days:3,574#59,010by terrytsang9 years ago
"WP30 Sky Bar" is a top bar for your message channel at any WordPress site.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
WP30 By Who
Down in the last 7 days:3,721#67,738by terrytsang9 years ago
"WP30 By Who" is a simple add-on that enable a small bar for label "Designed by" and social media icons links at the bottom.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Codeless Cloud Starter Sites
Down in the last 7 days:14,135#74,031by Codeless4 years ago
A cloud based service with 30+ templates and starter sites for Specular theme.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 1/day