Simple Footnotes
Create simple, elegant footnotes on your site. Use the [ref] shortcode and the plugin takes care of the rest.
Consider an alternative
Simple Footnotes shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 600+ sites, is rated 4.7/5 and was last updated 12 years ago, and scores 38/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (600+ active installs)
- No update in 11 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.1 (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 Simple Footnotes stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| endnotes | #21 |
| footnotes | #93 |
| references | >100 |
| shortcode | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 from 15 reviews
About Simple Footnotes
From the official readme · v0.3Description
Create simple, elegant footnotes on your site. Use the [ref] shortcode and the plugin takes care of the rest.
Example usage: Lorem ipsum. [ref]My note.[/ref]
If you paginate your posts, you can optionally move your footnotes below your page links. Look under Settings > Reading. Footnotes will still appear as normal for posts that are unpaginated.
Changelog
If you paginate your posts, this version enables you to move the footnotes below your page links. Footnotes would still appear as normal for posts that are unpaginated.
0.3
- If you paginate your posts, there’s now an option under Settings > Reading that enables you to move the footnotes below your page links. Footnotes will still appear as normal for posts that are unpaginated.
0.2
- Release.
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 Simple Footnotes alternatives
All endnotes plugins →
FAQ
Simple Footnotes: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 29, 2026
Is Simple Footnotes free?
Yes. Simple Footnotes is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Simple Footnotes safe to use in 2026?
Simple Footnotes shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 600+ sites, is rated 4.7/5 and was last updated 12 years ago, and scores 38/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Simple Footnotes?
Simple Footnotes is active on 600+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 23,059 times since it launched in July 2010. It was downloaded 123 times in the last 30 days.
Does Simple Footnotes work with WordPress 7.1?
Simple Footnotes is officially tested up to WordPress 4.1.42, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Simple Footnotes last updated?
The latest version, 0.3, was released on November 19, 2014 (12 years ago).
Who makes Simple Footnotes?
Simple Footnotes is developed and maintained by Andrew Nacin.
What are the best alternatives to Simple Footnotes?
The most popular alternatives to Simple Footnotes are FD Footnotes Plugin (1K+ installs), Blank Footnotes (300+ installs) and Footnotation (100+ installs).
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