BLACK FRIDAY
Save 59% on PageForge Annual $191/year $485/year
Claim 59% Off →
WP-SCSS icon
Maintained Tested up to 6.8.10 #842 most installed plugin #9 in css

WP-SCSS

Compiles .scss files to .css and enqueues them.

Active installs40K+10K+ tier
Downloads · 30d2.5K▼ -12.8% vs prev. 30d
Rating4.3/561 reviews
Health score60/100Fair
All-time downloads503.2KSince Nov 2013
Support resolved—No recent threads
RequiresWP 3.0.1PHP 7.2+
Overall rank#842of 69,592 plugins
Our verdict

Use with caution

WP-SCSS works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 40K+ sites, is rated 4.3/5 and was last updated 7 months ago, and scores 60/100 on our health check.

  • Proven at scale on 40K+ active sites
  • Only tested up to WordPress 6.8 (latest is 7.1)

How does it stack up?

Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support

Daily downloads

59119178Jun 29Aug 12Sep 26
Yesterday43
Daily average (1y)136
Peak day5,937Mar 2, 2026
Last 12 months49.4K

Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.

Rankings

Where WP-SCSS stands today
Overall popularity #842 of 69,592 WordPress.org plugins Top 1%
10K+ installs tier 53 of 211+
Next tier: 50K+ installs
Css #9 of 354 plugins → Sass #1 of 12 plugins → Scss #1 of 14 plugins → ScssPhp #1 of 2 plugins →

WordPress.org search rankings

Live position in the plugin search, top 100
KeywordPositionCompeting pluginsCategory
css >100 10,000 Best css plugins →
sass #3 201 Best sass plugins →
scss #1 295 Best scss plugins →
ScssPhp #1 15 Best ScssPhp plugins →

Version adoption

Share of active sites per release.

  • 4.084.3%
  • 1.26.1%
  • 2.45.4%
  • Other4.3%

Rating breakdown

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 from 61 reviews

  • 5★78.7%
  • 4★1.6%
  • 3★3.3%
  • 2★4.9%
  • 1★11.5%

About WP-SCSS

From the official readme · v4.0.8

Description

Compiles .scss files on your wordpress install using ScssPhp. Includes settings page for configuring directories, error reporting, compiling options, and auto enqueuing.

The plugin only compiles when changes have been made to the scss files. Compiles are made to the matching css file, so disabling this plugin will not take down your stylesheets. In the instance where a matching css file does not exist yet, the plugin will create the appropriate css file in the css directory.

Get detailed instructions on github

Looking for a new maintainer

If you are interested in giving back to the open source plugin respond here with your interest

Installation

  1. Upload plugin to plugins directory
  2. Active plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
  3. Configure plugin options through settings page settings -> WP-SCSS.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a child theme?

Yes, absolutely. Make sure you define your directories relative to your child theme and that your child theme is active. Otherwise you’ll see an error regarding missing directories.

What version of PHP is required?

PHP 7.2 is required to run WP-SCSS

How do I @import subfiles

You can import other scss files into parent files and compile them into a single css file. To do this, use @import as normal in your scss file. All imported file names must start with an underscore. Otherwise they will be compiled into their own css file. When importing in your scss file, you can leave off the underscore. @import 'subfile';

Does this plugin support Compass?

Currently there isn’t a way to fully support compass with a php compiler. If you want limited support, you can manually import the compass framework. You’ll need both the _compass.scss and compass directory. compass / frameworks / compass / stylesheets /@import ‘compass’;` Alternatively, you can include Bourbon in a similar fashion.

Can I use .sass syntax with this Plugin?

This plugin will only work with .scss format.

It’s not updating my css, what’s happening?

Do you have errors printing to the front end? If not, check your log file in your scss directory. The css will not be updated if there are errors in your sass file(s). Make sure your directories are properly defined in the settings. Paths are defined from the root of the theme.

I’m having other issues and need help

If you are having issues with the plugin, create an issue on github, and we’ll do our best to help.

Changelog

4.0.8

  • Fix: Cache directory now created with correct permissions (0755 instead of 0644). Thanks to #272
  • Fix: Cache directory path now always has a trailing slash. Thanks to rushhee

4.0.6

  • Fix: Cache directory now correctly respects base_compiling_folder setting instead of always defaulting to plugin directory. Thanks to MarcGuay
  • Improved settings page text to clarify cache directory behavior
  • Updated GitHub Actions deploy workflow default to dry-run for safety

4.0.4

  • Fix: Avoid usage of dynamic property for cache_file. Thanks to FreddyFY
  • Actually update PHP deprecated notices. Missed files in early version bump, svn to wp fail (not a fan of SVN)
  • Add Github Actions deploy script, because dealing with SVN is not fun. #260
  • Add Claude init files, because it knows PHP better than I do. #258

4.0.3

  • Remove PHP Deprecated notices
  • WP version bump to 6.4.2

4.0.2

  • Full SVN commit to WordPress
  • With version bump

4.0.0

  • DO NOT USE, missing commited files on WP SVN
  • Updates ScssPHP to version 1.11.0 thanks to fabarea

Full changelog on WordPress.org →

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.

Active installs badge Rating badge Health score badge

Best WP-SCSS alternatives

All css plugins →
Alternatives
Rank Plugin Active installs Rating Updated Health
1 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager WPCode Easily add code snippets in WordPress. Insert header & footer scripts, add PHP code… by Syed Balkhi 3M+ ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 (1.9K) 1 month ago 89
2 Code Snippets Code Snippets An easy, clean, and simple way to enhance your site with code snippets. by Code Snippets Pro 1M+ ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 (509) 4 weeks ago 92
3 Simple Custom CSS Plugin Simple Custom CSS Plugin Add Custom CSS to your WordPress site without any hassles. by John Regan 100K+ ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 (159) 2 years ago 51
4 Blocks Animation: CSS Animations for Gutenberg Blocks Blocks Animation: CSS Animations for Gutenberg Blocks Add CSS animations and scroll effects to any Gutenberg block. Choose from fade, slide, zoom… by Hardeep Asrani 90K+ ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 (70) 5 days ago 90
5 Widget CSS Classes Widget CSS Classes Add custom classes and ids plus first, last, even, odd, and numbered classes to your… by Jory Hogeveen 80K+ ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 (74) 2 years ago 52
6 Simple CSS Simple CSS Add CSS to your website through an admin editor, the Customizer or a metabox for page/post… by Tom 80K+ ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 (60) 1 year ago 58
7 WP Add Custom CSS WP Add Custom CSS Add custom css to the whole website and to specific posts and pages. by Daniele De Santis 60K+ ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 (89) 1 year ago 56
8 Clear Cache for Me Clear Cache for Me Purges cache on WPEngine, W3TC, WP Super Cache, WP Fastest Cache when widgets, menus… by webheadcoder 40K+ ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 (29) 3 months ago 75
10 Visual CSS Style Editor Visual CSS Style Editor Style your WordPress site visually. Discover the most popular front-end design plugin! Try… by YellowPencil 30K+ ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.1 (90) 1 month ago 83
11 Scripts n Styles Scripts n Styles This plugin allows Admin users to individually add HTML, custom CSS, Classes and JavaScript… by WraithKenny 30K+ ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 (30) 3 years ago 45

FAQ

WP-SCSS: quick answers

Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.

Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 27, 2026

Is WP-SCSS free?

Yes. WP-SCSS is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.

Is WP-SCSS safe to use in 2026?

WP-SCSS works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 40K+ sites, is rated 4.3/5 and was last updated 7 months ago, and scores 60/100 on our health check.

How many websites use WP-SCSS?

WP-SCSS is active on 40K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 503,171 times since it launched in November 2013. It was downloaded 2,486 times in the last 30 days.

Does WP-SCSS work with WordPress 7.1?

WP-SCSS is officially tested up to WordPress 6.8.10, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.

What PHP version does WP-SCSS need?

WP-SCSS requires PHP 7.2 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.

When was WP-SCSS last updated?

The latest version, 4.0.8, was released on March 2, 2026 (7 months ago).

Who makes WP-SCSS?

WP-SCSS is developed and maintained by Connect Think.

What are the best alternatives to WP-SCSS?

The most popular alternatives to WP-SCSS are WPCode (3M+ installs), Code Snippets (1M+ installs) and Simple Custom CSS Plugin (100K+ installs).

Powered by PageForge

Want thousands of pages that rank like these? Build them in an afternoon.

This directory runs on the same engine as PageForge. Turn any spreadsheet, CSV or API into thousands of fast, SEO-ready WordPress pages — with schema, internal links and AI-written copy baked in.

  • CSV, Google Sheets & API data sources
  • AI content, schema & internal links per page
  • Works with Elementor, Gutenberg, Yoast & Rank Math
  • Free on WordPress.org — no credit card
Sarah is here to help!
Hi there! 👋 Need help finding what you're looking for?
Sarah
Sarah
Online & Ready to Help
Hi there! 👋 Need help finding what you're looking for?

We'll use this to continue our conversation

Just now ✓ Verified

Join 500+ SEO Pros Scaling Their Strategy

Get exclusive programmatic SEO tactics, AI content workflows, and the latest PageForge updates delivered straight to your inbox. Stay ahead of the algorithm.

We care about your data in our privacy policy.