Skip to content
StaleWP

Plan a move Radar no. 92 · Falling behind

Shortcake

By Daniel Bachhuber

What it does: Gives shortcodes a visual editing screen.

Why it’s listed: It gave shortcodes a visual editor before blocks arrived, and it was last updated in 2019.

View on WordPress.org ↗ Checked Reviewed by Abhishek Deshpande

Active installs
10k+
Last updated
2019-01-16
Tested up to
5.0.31
Rating
4.1 / 5 (24)
Version
0.7.4
Maintainers
18

Is Shortcake still maintained?

It has gone over two years without an update.

Falling behind: WordPress or a service it relies on has moved on.

Placements are our opinion, based on public evidence. Risk here means a plugin may not get a fix if a problem appears. It doesn’t mean we found a flaw, unless we show an advisory. Going quiet alone never puts a plugin in Replace now.

Updates No release since 2019-01-16. That was 7 yr 10 mo before our check. WordPress.org plugin directory · checked 2026-10-31
Compatibility Tested up to WordPress 5.0.31. WordPress 7.1.4 was current on 2026-10-31. WordPress.org plugin directory · checked 2026-10-31
Security No public advisories found. A quiet record is not proof of safety. wpvulnerability.net · checked 2026-10-31
Reviews The latest 10 reviews average 3.6 stars, against 4.1 overall. 3 of them gave 1 or 2 stars. Newest activity: 2019-11-02. We see no negative trend. WordPress.org reviews · checked 2026-10-31
Maintainers 18 listed contributors. 0 of 1 recent support threads are marked resolved. WordPress.org plugin directory · checked 2026-10-31
Usage 1,933 downloads in the last 30 days, including updates. 99.41% of sites run version 0.7. WordPress.org stats · checked 2026-10-31

What to do next

  1. Back up the site, and use a staging copy for any change.
  2. Find what depends on it, and rebuild those parts as blocks where you can.

If it works today, no need to panic. Plan the change around your next update.

Recommended alternatives to Shortcake

Block editor ↗

Blocks replace most uses of a shortcode editor.

No extra plugin needed

Shortcode block ↗

Keep using a shortcode inside the block editor.

No extra plugin needed

Secure Custom Fields ↗

Build custom blocks and fields.

100k+ installs · 4.8 stars · Updated 2026-10-21 · Tested 7.1.4

Each listed plugin was updated in the last six months, is tested with WordPress 7.0 or newer, and had no open advisory in WPVulnerability when we checked. We have not tried them ourselves. No one pays to appear here.

Latest reviews

Dates show last activity. Titles are written by WordPress.org users.

Also on this radar: Editor and layout

No one can pay to appear on the radar or to change a placement. How we stay independent

Something wrong, or updated since we checked? Suggest a correction

StaleWP Newsletter

What changed in the plugin directory, twice a month. Free, unsubscribe anytime.

See how we handle your email on our Legal page.