WP Anchor Header
WP Anchor Header generates anchored headings.
Solid choice
WP Anchor Header is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 300+ sites, is rated 4.3/5 and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 74/100 on our health check.
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Small user base (300+ active installs)
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 WP Anchor Header stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| header | #29 |
| link | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 from 6 reviews
About WP Anchor Header
From the official readme · v0.3.1Description
WP Anchor Header generates anchored headings (H1-H6), creating a heading like this:
<h2 id="the-heading">
The Heading<a class="anchorlink dashicons-before" href="#the-heading"></a>
</h2>
The links are styled using the following CSS:
/* show IDs for anchors */
h1[id]:hover a.anchorlink:before,
h2[id]:hover a.anchorlink:before,
h3[id]:hover a.anchorlink:before,
h4[id]:hover a.anchorlink:before,
h5[id]:hover a.anchorlink:before,
h6[id]:hover a.anchorlink:before {
content: "\f103"; /*dashicons-admin-links*/
color: #888;
font-size: smaller;
text-decoration: none;
vertical-align: baseline;
}
a.anchorlink {
text-decoration: none;
margin-left: 0.5em;
font-size: smaller;
}
Credits
The plugin is inspired by Christian Weiske and his article Usability: Clickable heading links.
Installation
- Download the plugin and extract the read-online.zip
- Upload the extracted
read-onlinefolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
Changelog
0.3.1
- Tested up to WordPress 7.1.
0.3.0
- Requires WordPress 6.5 or later and tested up to WordPress 7.1.
- Refactor heading parsing to avoid deprecated HTML entity conversion and preserve existing heading IDs.
0.2.3
- Tested & found compatible with WP 4.7.
0.2.2
- Tested & found compatible with WP 4.6.
0.2.1
- Fix: Don’t run if
the_contentis empty
0.2.0
- Update plugin for WordPress Coding Standards.
- Tested & found compatible with WP 4.5.
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 WP Anchor Header alternatives
All header plugins →
FAQ
WP Anchor Header: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 5, 2026
Is WP Anchor Header free?
Yes. WP Anchor Header is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is WP Anchor Header safe to use in 2026?
WP Anchor Header is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 300+ sites, is rated 4.3/5 and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 74/100 on our health check.
How many websites use WP Anchor Header?
WP Anchor Header is active on 300+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 10,965 times since it launched in March 2015. It was downloaded 145 times in the last 30 days.
Does WP Anchor Header work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested WP Anchor Header up to WordPress 7.1.2, the latest release. It requires WordPress 6.5 or newer.
What PHP version does WP Anchor Header need?
WP Anchor Header requires PHP 7.2 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was WP Anchor Header last updated?
The latest version, 0.3.1, was released on August 13, 2026 (2 months ago).
Who makes WP Anchor Header?
WP Anchor Header is developed and maintained by Per Søderlind.
What are the best alternatives to WP Anchor Header?
The most popular alternatives to WP Anchor Header are WPCode (3M+ installs), Header Footer Code Manager (600K+ installs) and Insert Headers And Footers (300K+ installs).
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