Cite
Help readers know how to cite your article correctly. Use Cite plugin to display a box at the bottom of each page/post with reference information. Add to any page/post using shortcode [cite]
Consider an alternative
Cite shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 4.5/5 and was last updated 11 years ago, and scores 35/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (100+ active installs)
- No update in 11 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.7 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Cite stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| citation | >100 |
| cite | >100 |
| reference | >100 |
| referencing | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 from 15 reviews
About Cite
From the official readme · v1.2.2Description
Help readers know how to cite your article correctly. Use Cite plugin to display a box at the bottom of each page/post with reference information. Add to any page/post using shortcode [cite]
Key Features
- Simple & lightweight
- Dynamically generate tags such as site name, post title, permalink, publication date, last accessed date
- Works in all major browsers – IE7, IE8, IE9, Safari, Firefox, Chrome
- Add to any page using shortcode
[cite]
Demo
- Click here for out-of-the-box demo
Languages
Would you like to help translate the plugin into more languages? It’s very easy – you don’t have to know any code. Please contact Maeve
Installation
- Upload the
citefolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the Cite plugin through the WordPress ‘Plugins’ dashboard.
- Configure the plugin by going to the
Citetab that appears in your admin menu. - Add to any page using shortcode
[cite]
Changelog
Fixed {date} template tag to get last accessed date (today's date)
1.2.2
- Fixed {date} template tag to get last accessed date (today’s date)
1.2.1
- Added support for author name
- Updated default cite text
- Added reference samples
- Thank you to @jackdougherty for contributing these improvements
1.2
- Wrapped function displayTodaysDate in an if statement to avoid calling the function if it is already active
1.1
- Added publication date template tag
1.0
- Initial release
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Cite alternatives
All citation plugins →
FAQ
Cite: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 29, 2026
Is Cite free?
Yes. Cite is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Cite safe to use in 2026?
Cite shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 4.5/5 and was last updated 11 years ago, and scores 35/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Cite?
Cite is active on 100+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 5,775 times since it launched in March 2014. It was downloaded 75 times in the last 30 days.
Does Cite work with WordPress 7.1?
Cite is officially tested up to WordPress 4.7.37, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Cite last updated?
The latest version, 1.2.2, was released on July 29, 2015 (11 years ago).
Who makes Cite?
Cite is developed and maintained by Maeve Lander.
What are the best alternatives to Cite?
The most popular alternatives to Cite are Citations (200+ installs), ImpactPubs (100+ installs) and CitePress (50+ installs).
Powered by PageForge
Want thousands of pages that rank like these? Build them in an afternoon.
This directory runs on the same engine as PageForge. Turn any spreadsheet, CSV or API into thousands of fast, SEO-ready WordPress pages — with schema, internal links and AI-written copy baked in.
- CSV, Google Sheets & API data sources
- AI content, schema & internal links per page
- Works with Elementor, Gutenberg, Yoast & Rank Math
- Free on WordPress.org — no credit card
