WP Publication Archive
WP Publication Archive adds a custom content type for storing, tagging, and categorizing downloadable content external to standard WordPress posts and pages. You can add downloadable PDF files, Word documents, and…
Consider an alternative
WP Publication Archive shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 400+ sites, is rated 3.6/5 and was last updated 13 years ago, and scores 33/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (400+ active installs)
- No update in 13 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 3.6 (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 WP Publication Archive stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| archive | >100 |
| doc | >100 |
| document management | >100 |
| >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 3.6 from 5 reviews
About WP Publication Archive
From the official readme · v3.0.1Description
WP Publication Archive adds a custom content type for storing, tagging, and categorizing downloadable content external to standard WordPress posts and pages. You can add downloadable PDF files, Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations. These files will be stored in the standard WordPress uploads directory but will be managed separately through a custom post type interface in the WordPress admin area.
Licenses
WP Publication Archive is licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2.
This system was based on the original wp-publications-archive plug-in published by Luis Lino and Siemens Networks, S.A. at http://code.google.com/p/wp-publications-archive/.
The filing cabinet menu icon was created by Glyphish (http://glyphish.com) and is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
Filetype icons come from the Crystal Project (http://www.everaldo.com/crystal/) released under the LGPL (http://www.everaldo.com/crystal/?action=license).
Installation
- Upload the entire
wp-publication-archivefolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Use the “Add Publications” menu to begin adding publications.
- Use the built-in menu system to manage your publications.
Changelog
Please flush your permalinks by visiting the Settings >> Permalinks page in WordPress, otherwise your download links WILL NOT WORK.
= 3.0.1
* Revert the dropdown template’s file opening functionality to auto-open the file
3.0
- Add publication landing pages (with template)
- Add publication archive pages (with template)
- Update streaming methods to use
readfile() - Allow category archives for publications
- Add category count widget for publications
- Add related publication sidebar widget
- Update content field to store summary in post content
2.5.7.2
- Fix a short PHP open tag.
2.5.7.1
- Hotfix to correct a search term issue.
2.5.7
- Normalize PHP file endings to remove extra whitespace.
2.5.6
- Fix a data sanitation but that was mistakenly removing links from publication summaries.
2.5.5
- Fix a broken include path for the Widget.
- Allow targetting a blank tab/window with the
wp_pubarch_open_in_blankfilter.
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 Publication Archive alternatives
All archive plugins →
FAQ
WP Publication Archive: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 29, 2026
Is WP Publication Archive free?
Yes. WP Publication Archive is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is WP Publication Archive safe to use in 2026?
WP Publication Archive shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 400+ sites, is rated 3.6/5 and was last updated 13 years ago, and scores 33/100 on our health check.
How many websites use WP Publication Archive?
WP Publication Archive is active on 400+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 38,836 times since it launched in January 2011. It was downloaded 111 times in the last 30 days.
Does WP Publication Archive work with WordPress 7.1?
WP Publication Archive is officially tested up to WordPress 3.6.1, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was WP Publication Archive last updated?
The latest version, 3.0.1, was released on July 25, 2013 (13 years ago).
Who makes WP Publication Archive?
WP Publication Archive is developed and maintained by Eric Mann.
What are the best alternatives to WP Publication Archive?
The most popular alternatives to WP Publication Archive are Jetpack VaultPress (10K+ installs), Zippy (8K+ installs) and Posts List (7K+ installs).
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