Hydrogen Directory
The simplest, lightest way to manage and display a directory of anything.
Consider an alternative
Hydrogen Directory shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. Was last updated 7 months ago, and scores 36/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (<10 active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.9 (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 Hydrogen Directory stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| church | #87 |
| club | >100 |
| directory | >100 |
| employee | >100 |
| people | >100 |
About Hydrogen Directory
From the official readme · v1.3.0Description
Finally!
A ridiculously light, stupidly-simple plugin to manage and display a directory of anything: production cast, blog contributors, businesses, collectors items, church members, books, club officers, chickens in your flock, departmental employees, students, bowling league teams… you get the point.
Most “directory” plugins out there are way too complicated. One of the more popular ones weighs in at 30 MB! That’s almost as much code as WordPress Core. That’s uranium heavy. Be careful of meltdowns…
Enter Hydrogen Directory.
This plugin is light and simple, just like hydrogen. Weighing just 62kb zipped, it’s so tiny it might float away.
Whether you need to just list the 3 members on your team, are looking to showcase the 200 cars in your pinewood derby league, or need to import 10,000 employees, Hydrogen Directory manages it all with ease, speed, and predictable grace.
Highlights:
- Quickly add or updated listings in wordpress using familiar interface.
- Organize entries into buckets using taxonomies.
- Display your directories anywhere on your site.
That’s it! Get on to more important things in your life.
Gutenberg Block
The Hydrogen Directory block provides a visual way to add directory listings to your pages and posts.
Block Features:
- Live preview in the editor
- Visual controls for all settings
- Layout Settings: Display style (list/card/text), columns (1-6), show/hide headers
- Content Settings: Content mode (excerpt/full/none), excerpt length
- Filter Settings: Taxonomy selection, term filtering, show entries filter
Simply search for “Hydrogen Directory” in the block inserter, add the block, and configure using the sidebar controls.
Shortcode Arguments:
tax: use to display entries from a single taxonomy
term: use to display entries from a single term in a taxonomy
style: display style (default “list”)
columns: number of columns to display (default 1)
headers: whether to include tax / term headers in the output (default 1 = yes)
content: content display mode – “excerpt” (truncated, default), “full” (all content), or “none” (hide content)
excerpt_length: number of words to show when content=”excerpt” (default 20)
Example:
[hydrogen_directory tax=”role” term=”Alter Boy” style=”card” columns=3]
[hydrogen_directory tax=”role” term=”Staff” style=”list” content=”excerpt” excerpt_length=”30″]
[hydrogen_directory tax=”department” content=”none”]
Installation
- Upload the
hydrogen-directoryfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Activate
Hydrogen Directorythrough the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress dashboard. - Use the “Hydrogen Directory” block in the Gutenberg editor, or use the shortcode
[hydrogen_directory]in classic editor or anywhere shortcodes work.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import entries from a CSV?
Yes – you can import using standard CSV import pathways. Although WordPress does not offer CSV import function natively, there are a number of plugins that will add this feature. This plugin has been tested successfully with the “Really Simple CSV Importer” plugin. (Note, entries in the file must be comma separated.)
How do I theme the output?
You have several options: Add custom css to your theme to tweak the look. Override the default templates by copying any of the directory-list-entry-{type}.php files into your theme, and modifying it there. Use the plugin hooks (filters / actions) to customize specific parts.
Can this plugin do X,Y or Z?
Probably not. But it could! Hydrogen Directory is purposefully simple and easy. But it can extended in powerful ways. Contact me for requests for additional functionality.
Changelog
1.3.0
- Fix: Less opinionated css for better theming and to prevent conflicts with themes and other plugins
1.2.1
- Fix: removed css from text template
1.2.0
- Add: Gutenberg Block with live preview and visual controls
- Add: REST API endpoint for block preview
- Add: Block editor styles for accurate preview rendering
- Add: More filter hooks for customizing output
1.1.0
- Fix: CSS structure for better theming
- Add: schema.org markup
- Add: shortcode options for content display mode and excerpt length
1.0.4
- Tested to WordPress 6.9
- Fix: escaping output
- Fix: namespacing and global variables
- Fix: post sanitization
- Security: prevent direct access
- Fix: template errors
- Fix: corrected filter/action usage
1.0.3
- Bugfix: activation error (submenu permission)
- Tested to WP 5.9.3
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
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Best Hydrogen Directory alternatives
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FAQ
Hydrogen Directory: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 30, 2026
Is Hydrogen Directory free?
Yes. Hydrogen Directory is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Hydrogen Directory safe to use in 2026?
Hydrogen Directory shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. Was last updated 7 months ago, and scores 36/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Hydrogen Directory?
Hydrogen Directory is active on <10 WordPress websites and has been downloaded 1,511 times since it launched in June 2021. It was downloaded 52 times in the last 30 days.
Does Hydrogen Directory work with WordPress 7.1?
Hydrogen Directory is officially tested up to WordPress 6.9.9, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Hydrogen Directory last updated?
The latest version, 1.3.0, was released on February 18, 2026 (7 months ago).
Who makes Hydrogen Directory?
Hydrogen Directory is developed and maintained by LBell.
What are the best alternatives to Hydrogen Directory?
The most popular alternatives to Hydrogen Directory are Church Content (4K+ installs), Advanced Sermons (1K+ installs) and Church Admin (900+ installs).
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