Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline)

81 Quality Score

Active Installs

19/30

The 20,000 active installs are modest compared to top alternatives like Simple History at 300,000, though this is expected given the narrower niche use case of visual timelines rather than logging.

Update Freshness

25/25

A release on July 7, 2026 and compatibility tested up to WordPress 7.0 indicates the developer is actively shipping updates.

User Rating

14/15

A 94 out of 100 average across 327 ratings is strong and suggests most users are happy with the output and ease of use.

Support Health

8/15

Only 3 support threads have ever been opened with 2 resolved, which could mean either the plugin rarely breaks or that few users hit the support channels, limiting our ability to gauge responsiveness.

WP Compatibility

15/15

Requires PHP 5.6 and WordPress 5.6, which is a reasonable floor, and active testing with current WordPress versions gives full marks here.

Scores higher than 83% of indexed plugins

About

Showcase your story or company history, events, and roadmap in an interactive timeline using the powerful Cool Timeline plugin.

Active Installs 20k+

Rating ★★★★½ 4.7/5

Last Updated 2026-09-25 10:23am GMT

Requires WordPress 5.6+

Tested Up To 7.1.2

Requires PHP 5.6+

Security History

2 known vulnerabilities, all patched

1 High 1 Medium

Most recent: April 4, 2022

View details ▸

What It Does

Cool Timeline lets WordPress site owners build visual vertical or horizontal timelines to display company histories, product roadmaps, milestones, or event sequences. You create timeline entries through a custom post type, then place them on pages and posts using shortcodes or a block. The plugin ships with several styling presets and animation options for customizing the look.

Who It's For

This plugin is a good fit for small business sites, agencies, non-profits, or personal blogs that need to present dates, events, or progress in a chronological visual format without writing custom code. It works well for landing pages highlighting a company journey, course outlines, or product release roadmaps. Sites already using a page builder like Elementor may get less value since dedicated timeline widgets exist for that ecosystem.

Who Should Skip It

Anyone only looking for a basic list of dates, an activity log, or change auditing of their WordPress site should skip this plugin and use Simple History or WP Activity Log instead. If you already build pages in Elementor and only need a timeline widget there, the Timeline Widget For Elementor addon will be lighter and more integrated.

The Bottom Line

Cool Timeline earns an overall score of 80.86 out of 100, driven by excellent maintenance, high user satisfaction, and solid compatibility. The plugin does a focused job well for anyone needing a visual timeline without custom development. The only real caveat is its niche scope, so make sure your use case is genuinely about storytelling or roadmaps and not site auditing.

Related Plugins

Simple History 87/100

Choose Simple History if your real goal is auditing user actions and site changes rather than displaying a public-facing visual timeline.

WP Activity Log 86/100

Pick WP Activity Log for enterprise-grade monitoring of logins, content edits, and plugin activity, not for marketing-style timelines.

Timeline Widget For Elementor 84/100

Go with this Elementor addon if you build pages entirely in Elementor and want timeline rendering handled inside the same editor.

Vertical Timeline Widget for Elementor 80/100

Pick this lightweight Elementor widget if you only need a simple vertical timeline and want to avoid a full timeline plugin.

User Login History 79/100

Use User Login History when your focus is tracking logins and user sessions rather than presenting a public chronology of events.