searchReplace
SearchReplace checks for and replaces content in your posts, pages and/or comments. Fully configurable.
Consider an alternative
searchReplace shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 20+ sites and was last updated 2 years ago, and scores 27/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (20+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in over a year
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.7 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
![Disable Comments – Remove Comments & Stop Spam [Multi-Site Support]](https://ps.w.org/disable-comments/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=2509854){kind=icon}
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where searchReplace stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| comments | >100 |
| posts | >100 |
| regular expression | #78 |
| replace | >100 |
| search | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About searchReplace
From the official readme · v1.2.2Description
Ever annoyed when you had to add that same opening sentence or image to a blogpost for the gazzilionth time? Or always wanted to have an easy way to insert youtube video’s to your site?
Despair no more, now there is searchReplace. Well, there probably are a number of similar plugins, but this one is different: it is mine. 🙂
The plugin makes it possible to search for certain texts and replace them, in both comments and posts. It does not alter your database contents.
For example, you could add the string “[topicimage]” to searchReplace and replace that with your default image tag.
When changing your default image you only have to change the searchReplace item to change it site wide!
The plugin supports regular expressions as well, which makes it possible to do url replacements, or other more advanced search and replace commands.
Uses: Implementing BBcode (pre configured), replace foul language, easy YouTube insertion (pre configured) etc.
It has the following features:
- Easily add, edit and delete rules
- simple search and replace option
- regular expression search and replace option
- apply rules to comments, posts or both at once
- Pre installed with BBcode (minus smilies and tables) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBCode
Installation
Installation instructions:
- Upload the folder ‘searchReplace’ to the ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory
- Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Activate the desired pre-defined options
Frequently asked questions
Why aren’t there any questions?
You guys did not ask any!
Changelog
1.2.2
- Fixed invalid explode.
1.2.1
- Fixed typo.
1.2
- Fixed has_cap deprecation warning.
1.1
- Checked if it still worked under 3.8.1 (yes), updated version-nr to 1.1.
1.0
- Checked if it still worked under 3.4.1 (yes), updated version-nr to 1.0, as no major bugs have been found.
0.1.1
- When installed in subdirectory, the “edit” and “delete” link did not work
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 searchReplace alternatives
All comments plugins →
FAQ
searchReplace: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 8, 2026
Is searchReplace free?
Yes. searchReplace is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is searchReplace safe to use in 2026?
searchReplace shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 20+ sites and was last updated 2 years ago, and scores 27/100 on our health check.
How many websites use searchReplace?
searchReplace is active on 20+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 4,819 times since it launched in May 2010. It was downloaded 48 times in the last 30 days.
Does searchReplace work with WordPress 7.1?
searchReplace is officially tested up to WordPress 6.7.10, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was searchReplace last updated?
The latest version, 1.2.2, was released on December 31, 2024 (2 years ago).
Who makes searchReplace?
searchReplace is developed and maintained by Joost.
What are the best alternatives to searchReplace?
The most popular alternatives to searchReplace are Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Pro… (5M+ installs), Disable Comments (1M+ installs) and Antispam Bee (700K+ installs).
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