Endnotes
Endnotes is a simple solution for adding footnotes to your WordPress posts or pages. The plugin originated as a fork of John Watson’s FD Footnotes but has been updated to use the WordPress Settings API. The original…
Consider an alternative
Endnotes shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 4.8/5 and was last updated 10 years ago, and scores 36/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (100+ active installs)
- No update in 10 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.5 (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 Endnotes stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| bibliography | #29 |
| endnotes | #17 |
| footnotes | #91 |
| notes | >100 |
| references | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 from 5 reviews
About Endnotes
From the official readme · v1.0.1Description
Endnotes is a simple solution for adding footnotes to your WordPress posts or pages. The plugin originated as a fork of John Watson’s FD Footnotes but has been updated to use the WordPress Settings API. The original plugin’s usage and functionality has been retained.
How to Use
You can add footnotes to your posts or pages by adding numbered inline content within square brackets. Place the inline content where you would like the superscript numeral to appear.
I am Jack's happy sentence that will contain a footnote[1. I am Jack's happy footnote] for calling out a reference.
Each footnote must have a number, followed by a period and a space, and then the actual footnote. They don’t have to be unique but it is recommended. It doesn’t matter what the numbers are since the footnotes will be automatically renumbered when the post is displayed.
Footnotes can contain anything you’d like including links, images, etc. Footnotes are automatically linked back to the spot in the text where the note was made.
Square Bracket Usage
Do not include square brackets inside the footnotes themselves.
Unique Footnote Numbers
Footnote numbers don’t need to be unique but it is highly recommended, especially if the text is identical for multiple footnotes. If you have multiple footnotes with the exact same text and number, you may get undesirable results.
Installation
You can install Endnotes either via the WordPress Dashboard or by uploading the extracted endnotes folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory. Once the plugin has been successfully installed, simply activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in your WordPress Dashboard.
Once the plugin has been activated, visit the Settings page to customize the display of your footnotes.
Screenshots
For developers
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Best Endnotes alternatives
All bibliography plugins →
FAQ
Endnotes: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 28, 2026
Is Endnotes free?
Yes. Endnotes is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Endnotes safe to use in 2026?
Endnotes shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 4.8/5 and was last updated 10 years ago, and scores 36/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Endnotes?
Endnotes is active on 100+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 5,821 times since it launched in June 2015. It was downloaded 97 times in the last 30 days.
Does Endnotes work with WordPress 7.1?
Endnotes is officially tested up to WordPress 4.5.33, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Endnotes last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.1, was released on May 2, 2016 (10 years ago).
Who makes Endnotes?
Endnotes is developed and maintained by Heavy Heavy.
What are the best alternatives to Endnotes?
The most popular alternatives to Endnotes are Footnotes Made Easy (2K+ installs), teachPress (2K+ installs) and Zotpress (2K+ installs).
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