WP Wapuu Widget
This plugin adds a widget that shows the pretty official character of WordPress Japanese local site.
Consider an alternative
WP Wapuu Widget shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 15 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 15 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 3.2 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & supportDaily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where WP Wapuu Widget stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| cute | #57 |
| image | >100 |
| Pretty | >100 |
| wapuu | #9 |
| widget | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About WP Wapuu Widget
From the official readme · v0.4.3Description
This plugin adds a widget that shows the official character of WordPress Japanese local site. This pretty character is called “わぷー(Wapuu)” in Japanese.
“わぷー(Wapuu)” was designed by Kazuko Kaneuchi under GPL v2 license or any later version.
Features
- Widget that shows the official character of WordPress Japanese local site.
- Resizing the image by GD library 2.0.1 or higher.
- Setting image background color.
- Adding a link to the image.
- Showing your description on the widget.
- Setting font size for your description.
- Support lightbox.
- Localization: English(Default), 日本語(Japanese, UTF-8).
Notes
Some different sizes of images are prepared.
Available size: 125pixel, 150pixel, 175pixel, 200pixel, 380pixel
You can also set other size. If you set other size, the high-quality resized image will be created by GD library.
If GD library 2.0.1 or higher is not installed, the low-quality image will be shown, because the image is resized by the browser.
Installation
Installation
- Upload plugin folder to the
/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Activate the plugin through the “Plugins” menu in WordPress.
- Go to “Widgets” section under “Appearance” menu in WordPress and add the “Wapuu Widget” in your sidebar.
Widget Settings
- Title: Textarea to enter title for this widget block.
- Image size: Enter image size in pixels.
- Background color: If you need, check the checkbox and enter the colorcode. e.g. #FFFFFF
- Image link URL: Enter the URL to add a link to the image. When the textarea is left blank, this pluguin does not add a link.
- Rel attribute: Check the checkbox to add
rel="lightbox"attribute for lightbox. If need, change the attribute value. To apply Wapuu image to lightbox, you must enter an image URL in “Image link URL”. e.g. http://YOUR_BLOG/wp-content/plugins/wp-wapuu-widget/wapuu_380.png - Description: Textarea to enter description.
- Font size: Enter the font size for description in numbers. When the textarea is left blank, the font size is defined by your theme CSS.
Changelog
This version has some changes.
0.4.3
- Replaced Wapuu images(125, 150, 175 and 200 pixel) with the images created by o6asan. Thnaks o6asan!
- Added uninstall.php.
0.4.2
- Replaced Wapuu images(125, 150 and 175 pixel) with the images resampled using bilinear.
0.4.1
- Support lightbox.
- Changed conditional branches for showing Wapuu image.
0.4
- Replaced Wapuu images with new Wapuu images with transparent background.
- Added new option to define background color
- Added new option to define font size.
- Changed image-resize process to resize while preserving transparency.
- Added ALT attribute to the image.
- Using esc_url() to escape Image link URL.
- Using dirname() and plugin_basename() instead of hardcoded directory name.
- Changed in the timing of executing image-resize.
- Added error checking for handling image-resizeing.
- Added new conditional branches for validating setting values.
- Changed directory name stored translation files.
0.3
- Plugin name is changed.(also filename etc.)
- Added new option to change the link URL.
- Fix a bug: When description is undefined(null), necessary tags are not added.
0.2
- Added new function: Resizeing image by GD library.
- Added new function: Showing description.
Screenshots
For developers
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Best WP Wapuu Widget alternatives
All cute plugins →| Rank | Plugin | Active installs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Cute Animals
Display cute animated animals on your website!
|
30+ |
FAQ
WP Wapuu Widget: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 29, 2026
Is WP Wapuu Widget free?
Yes. WP Wapuu Widget is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is WP Wapuu Widget safe to use in 2026?
WP Wapuu Widget shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 15 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
How many websites use WP Wapuu Widget?
WP Wapuu Widget is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 2,548 times since it launched in August 2011. It was downloaded 59 times in the last 30 days.
Does WP Wapuu Widget work with WordPress 7.1?
WP Wapuu Widget is officially tested up to WordPress 3.2.1, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was WP Wapuu Widget last updated?
The latest version, 0.4.3, was released on September 2, 2011 (15 years ago).
Who makes WP Wapuu Widget?
WP Wapuu Widget is developed and maintained by redcocker.
What are the best alternatives to WP Wapuu Widget?
The most popular alternatives to WP Wapuu Widget are Cute Animals (30+ installs).
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