There are lot of ins and outs to hosting WordPress plugins. Please take a minute to see if your question is answered here before reaching out for assistance.
Last Updated: 12 October 2024
The Plugin Review Team
How do I contact the Plugin Review team?
You can contact us by email at [email protected] – we reply to all emails within 7 business days.
Can I join the team?
Please take a look at this handbook page.
Submissions and Reviews
Where do I submit my plugin?
Go to the Add page and upload your file. You should make sure that:
- It’s a .zip file and under 10Mb.
- It’s in the common WordPress plugin format so that it can be installed using the ‘Upload Plugin’ feature in WordPress.
- It’s production-ready: complete, without errors, without unnecessary logs, without development tools, and that all necessary files are properly compiled or generated.
We do not accept placeholders or plugins that aren’t ready to be used.
What if my plugin is over 10 megs?
Double check that you aren’t including unused files (like test folders, documentation, and full node/vendor folders). The majority of plugins who face this issue have included all sorts of development content that has no place in the final code.
What happens after submission?
You will get an automated email telling you about the submission immediately. It will be queued, and as soon as we get to it, we will manually download and review your code. If we find no issues with the security, documentation, or presentation, your plugin will be approved. If we determine there are issues, you will receive a second email with details explaining what needs to be fixed.
What will my plugin permalink (slug) be?
When you submit a plugin, you get an automated email telling you what the slug will be. This is populated based on the value of your Plugin Name in your main plugin file (the one with the plugin headers).
For example:
- Plugin name:
Boaty McBoatface - Autogenerated Slug:
boaty-mcboatface
If there is an existing plugin with your name or slug, then you’ll get a warning on the submission.
The slug will also determine the following:
- The URL of your plugin’s WordPress.org public page:
wordpress.org/plugins/boaty-mcboatface - The folder name of your plugin in the WordPress plugins directory:
<wp-content-folder>/plugins/boaty-mcboatface - The address of your plugin’s SVN repository and trac:
plugins.svn.wordpress.org/boaty-mcboatfaceandplugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/boaty-mcboatface - Your plugin’s text-domain for internationalization functions:
esc_html__('Hello', 'boaty-mcboatface');
Once your plugin is approved, this name cannot be renamed. Please chose wisely.
Why did I get a different slug than I was told?
If we have to change your permalink (slug) we will always email you to explain why. In general, we change your permalink when you have obvious typos or mistakes (foundre instead of founder, for example) or if there are conflicts with existing trademarks or other plugins. Please make sure you read your review email carefully, as we do explain why we do things.
Why is my submission failing saying my plugin name already exists?
There are two reasons this happens:
- You’re trying to use a plugin with a permalink that already exists on WordPress.org
- You’re trying to use a plugin with a permalink that exists outside WordPress.org and has a significant user base.
The first one is obvious. You can’t have two plugins with the same permalink so you need to pick a new one.
The second one is confusing because it’s telling you that somewhere, not on WordPress.org, that permalink is in use. It’s important to understand that the way the plugin update API works is that it compares the plugin folder name (i.e. the permalink) to every plugin it has hosted on WordPress.org. If there’s a match, then it checks for updates and users are prompted to upgrade.
When that happens, users of the ‘original’ plugin (the one we don’t host) would upgrade to the one from WordPress.org and, if that isn’t what you actually wanted to do, you could break their sites.
Sometimes this situation develops when a company or person releases their plugin privately (via Github for example) and decides they want to re-release it on WordPress.org. In those cases, we recommend you email us and we’ll walk you through how to get past the error.
Why am I getting an error that says I cannot begin my plugin name with a term?
That error is to inform you that you may not begin your Display Name with someone else’s trademarked term. This is to protect you and the directory from legal issues regarding trademark abuse. To correct the issue, you must change the Display Name in your plugin’s readme and main PHP files.
Please do not try to ‘work around’ this by cleverly renaming your plugin (WuuCommerce for example). All that does is make us worry you’re not going to be able to follow guidelines in the future.
Why am I getting an error that says I cannot use a term entirely in my plugin name?
Some trademark owners have requested we no longer permit the use of specific terms in plugin names entirely. If you see this error, then you must remove the term from your plugin name.
To proceed with this submission you must remove “[TERM]” from the Plugin Name: line in both your main plugin file and readme entirely.
If you attempt to get around this by changing your term from ‘Facerange’ to ‘Face-Range’, we will pend your submission and reiterate that you cannot use the term. Please don’t try to be sneaky or clever to get past this restriction.
How do I submit an official plugin?
Log in as the official organization user account and submit with that account only.
How we will know that you are the official organization? Because of your email address mostly.
We cannot accept plugins that act in name of an organization submitted by individual developer accounts, unless they’re clearly company ones as well. For example, submitting your official plugin with a user that has a gmail address is likely to be flagged for trademark infringement.
What if I submitted the plugin with the wrong user ID?
Just reply to the email right away and let us know. We can transfer ownership for you. If you forget to do this, you can fix it yourself by adding the correct account as a committer and then having that account remove your own.
DO NOT resubmit your plugin. Just tell us right away and we’ll fix it.
How long does it take to get a plugin approved?
There’s no official average, as no two plugins are the same. If your plugin is small and all the code is correct, it should be approved within fourteen days of initial review.
If your plugin has any code issues, it will take as long as it takes for you to correct the issues. Either way, you will get an email from [email protected] with the status, so please add that to your email whitelist and patiently wait for our response.
I sent in the fixes but no one replied. How long should I wait?
We aim to reply to all reviews within ten (10) business days. If it’s been less than that, it just means we’ve been really busy. If it’s been two days, like over a weekend or a holiday, then you should not reasonably expect a reply.
Remember the review team is made up of 100% volunteers, all of whom have full time day jobs, and other volunteer duties. We do reply promptly, but we also have lives outside of WordPress.
If my plugin has a problem, how long do I have to fix it?
There’s no timeline and as long as we know you’re working on it and we feel you’re making progress, we’ll leave the review open. Your plugin will be rejected after 3 months, but the review will remain open.
Why was my plugin rejected after three months?
If your plugin review is not complete after three (3) months, we will reject your submission in order to keep the queue maintainable. At any point in time, we have more than 500 people mid-review, and we figure that 3 months is a pretty reasonable time frame.
I finally fixed my plugin. Should I resubmit?
If your plugin was rejected after three months, submit it again and reply to the email so we are aware that you wanna continue a previous unfinished review. Even if it’s been 18 months. The longest time to date has been 3 years. We don’t mind if it takes a while.
DO NOT resubmit your plugin if it was rejected for any other reason, just reply to the email.
How many plugins can I submit for review at a time?
Generally, just one. If you’re a plugin author with more than one million active plugin installations, we understand that you have more ongoing projects, so you would have a different limit of up to 10 plugin submissions at the same time.
Why can’t I submit more than one plugin at a time?
Allowing people to have multiple submissions at once was proven to be detrimental to the review process. Errors were regularly found in all the plugins, resulting in the same emails being sent multiple times. In addition, people often got confused as to which review they were working on, muddying the waters about what needed to be solved. By changing this to one-at-a-time, confusion in those matters dropped significantly.
In addition, many new users don’t know how to use SVN, and wound up submitting multiple plugins and never using any. That can be a drain on our resources, so we do limit people.
Since all plugins get an initial review within four weeks, this should not be a hardship.
Can I submit multiple plugins with multiple accounts?
No. And if you do so, we will suspend all your secondary accounts. Don’t try to get around the one-at-a-time rule please.
I need my plugin approved by a specific date, what should I do?
Submit it as early as possible. Unless the plugin is meant to address a security or legal issue, we don’t permit queue jumping. If it is related to one of those, please email [email protected] and explain the situation.
Are there specific things that I should avoid doing?
We look for some pretty obvious things, all of which are listed in our guidelines. Most can be summed up as “Don’t be a spammer,” but to touch on the ones people do the most:
- Not including a
readme.txtfile when acting as a service - Not testing the plugin with
WP_DEBUG - Including custom versions of packaged JavaScript libraries
- Calling external files unnecessarily
- “Powered By” links
- Phoning home
Again, this is a brief overview. Please read the guidelines, as the full list is quite detailed.
Are there plugins you don’t accept?
We don’t accept plugins that do ‘nothing,’ are illegal, or encourage bad behavior. This includes black hat SEO spamming, content spinners, hate-plugins, and so on.
Similarly we do not accept framework plugins or library plugins. If your plugin has to require other plugins or themes to edit themselves in order to use your plugin, it’s a library. If your plugin is a template from which more code can be built by customizing the files directly, it’s a framework or boilerplate. Frameworks and libraries should be packaged with each plugin (hopefully in a way that doesn’t conflict with other plugins using the framework or libraries). At least until core supports plugin dependencies.
We also don’t accept 100% copies of other people’s work or plugins that duplicate functionality found in WordPress Core. Basically, your plugin should do something new, or in a new way, or solve a specific issue.
I want to redo, upgrade, or rebrand my existing plugin. I just submit again, right?
No, you should rewrite and upgrade the existing plugin. Make it a major version release. We can’t rename plugins or transfer users, so a new one wouldn’t carry over any existing users, reviews, support topics, ratings, downloads, favorites, etc. Basically you’d leave all your current users out in the cold, and that’s mean.
I made a mistake with my submission. How can I fix it?
You can update your plugin files from the submission page at any time.
You can update your slug once after submitting it.
Every submission gets an automated email with directions. If you have a different issue, please reply to that or email [email protected] and explain the situation.
Regarding slugs if you need further changes, you’ll need to contact us. We also try to catch typos in names before we approve anything, but we make mistakes too.
Are there things I can’t do in a plugin name?
We have the following restrictions:
- Plugins may not use vulgarities in the name or slug
- Plugins may not use ‘WordPress’ or ‘Plugin’ in their slugs except under extreme situations
- Plugins may not use version numbers in plugin slugs
- Due to system limitations, only English letters and Arabic numbers are permitted in the slug
- Plugins may not start or contain in a way that may be confusing a trademarked term or name of a specific project/library/tool unless submitted by an official representative
We encourage everyone to be creative and come up with unique slugs. We automatically correct any plugin that has an unacceptable slug. If there’s a question as to the best choice, we will contact you to be sure.
Using The SVN Repository
Where do I put my files?
Put your code files directly in the trunk/ directory of your repository. Whenever you release a new version, tag that release by copying the current trunk revision to a new subdirectory of the tags/ directory.
Make sure you update trunk/readme.txt to reflect the new stable tag.
Images for the readme (such as screenshots, plugin headers, and plugin icons), belong in the assets/ directory (which you may need to create) in the root of your SVN checkout. This will be on the same level as tags/ and trunk/, for example.
Can I put my files in a subdirectory of trunk/?
No. Doing that will cause the zip generator to break.
If you have complicated plugin with lots of files, you can of course organize them into subdirectories, but the readme.txt file and the root plugin file should go straight into trunk/.
How should I name my tags (a.k.a. releases)?
Your Subversion tags should look like version numbers. Specifically, they should only contain numbers and periods. 2.8.4 is a good lookin’ tag, my neato releaso is a bad lookin’ tag. We recommend you use Semantic Versioning to keep track of releases, but we do not enforce this.
Note that we’re talking about Subversion tags here, not readme.txt search type tags.
How many old releases should I keep in SVN?
As few as possible. Very rarely does anyone need your old code in the release repository. Remember, SVN is not meant for your code versioning. You can use Github for stuff like that. SVN should have your current release versions, but you don’t need all the minor releases to all the previous versions. Just the last one or two for them is good.
Can I include SVN externals in my plugin?
No. You can add svn externals to your repository, but they won’t get added to the downloadable zip file.
Can I put zips and other compressed files in my plugin?
No.
Can I include minified JS?
Yes! However you either have to keep the non-minified in your plugin or direct people via your readme as to where they can get the non-minified files.
It’s fine to minify, but it’s not okay to hide it. All code must be human readable for inclusion in this directory.
Your WordPress.Org Page
When does my plugin go ‘live’?
As soon as you push code to the SVN folders, your plugin will be live. DO NOT push code if you’re not ready, as there’s no ‘off’ switch except to close the plugin. As closing a plugin is permanent, we recommend you not push code until you’re ready to go live.
Where does the WordPress.org Plugin Directory get its data?
From the information you specify in the plugin file and in the readme.txt file, and from the Subversion repository itself. Read about how the readme.txt works for more information.
You should also make full use of the Plugin Headers in your main plugin file. Those will define how your username shows up on the WordPress.org hosting page, as well as in the WordPress Admin. We recommend using all those headers to fully document your plugin.
Can I specify what version of my plugin the WordPress.org Plugin Directory should use?
Yes, by specifying the Stable Tag field in your trunk directory’s readme.txt file.
We ask you not use ‘trunk’ as your stable tag, as that makes rollbacks more complicated than they need to be.
What version of WordPress should the “Tested Up To” value be?
Logically, whatever version you tested up to. However, never go above the current release candidate. If there is none, don’t go above the active version. So if WordPress’ stable release is 6.0.9, you can use 6.0 to 6.0.9 and everything will be fine. If there is a release of 6.1-RC then you may use 6.1, however you can go no higher.
Do not attempt to be clever and use 6.5 or 7. This will result in errors on your page.
Do I need to release a new version of my plugin every time I update the readme?
No. If you’re only making cosmetic changes to the readme or your icons/headers, you do not need to release a new version. Just make sure you update the trunk and tag folders.
Do I need to release a new version of my plugin every time I update the code?
Yes. Otherwise no one gets updated.
What should be in my changelog?
A changelog is a log or record of all or all notable changes made to your plugin, including records of changes such as bug fixes, new features, etc. If you need help formatting your changelogs, we recommend Keep A Changelog as that’s the format used by many products out there.
How many versions should I keep in my changelog?
Always keep the current major release in your change log. For example, if your current version is 3.9.1, you’ll want that and 3.9 in the change log. Older versions should be removed and migrated to a changelog.txt file. That will allow them to be accessible to users, while keeping your readme shorter and more pertinent. At most, keep the most recent version of your plugin and one major version back in your readme’s changelog. Your changelog.txt will not be visible within the WordPress.org Plugin Directory, but that’s okay. Most users just want to know what’s new.
How do I include videos on plugin description pages?
For YouTube and Vimeo videos, simply paste the video link on a line by itself in your description. Note that the video must be set to allow embedding for the embed process to work. For videos hosted by the WordPress.com VideoPress service, use the shortcode. Shortcodes can also be used for YouTube and Vimeo, if needed, just like in WordPress.
Why does my plugin say it’s not been tested with the most recent WordPress versions?
That happens when you neglected to use a proper ‘Tested Up To’ value in your headers in your readme. That value should be the latest version of WordPress that you’ve tested your plugin against. If the latest major WordPress version is 4.9, then you should have the value 4.9 to indicate compatibility. You do not need to update for minor releases (if your readme is compatible to 4.9 then that will cover 4.9 through 4.9.1000).
Keep in mind, if you put in non-released versions of WordPress (like 6.0) you’ll see the same message.
How long does it take for the Plugin Directory to reflect my changes?
The WordPress.org Plugin Directory updates every few minutes. However, it may take longer for your changes to appear depending on the size of the update queue. Please give it at least 6 hours before contacting us.
How do I make one of those cool banners for my plugin page?
You can make your own plugin headers by uploading the correctly named files into the assets folder. Read about plugin headers for more information.
How do I make a plugin icon?
You can make your own plugin icons by uploading the correctly named files into the assets folder. Read about plugin icons for more information.
Can I use official logos in my plugin banner/icons?
Usually no.
Your plugin icon should never be the unaltered, official logo of, say, Facerange. That would be infringing on their property. You may not use official logos for your branding in your banners or icons. Even if you have permission to do so on your site, we don’t have that permission here.
Much like your plugin name, we recommend your icons and headers be something unique to you. They tend to be more memorable that way.
How many tags can I use in my readme?
Per the guidelines, plugins are limited to 12 tags in their readme. This is to control spam. That said, only the first FIVE tags will display on WordPress.org, much for the same reason. The first 12 tags are used for searches, and the rest are ignored, so tag-stuffing won’t help you at all.
In addition, any tags where you are the only one who uses them won’t show, because they’re not going to help anyone find another, similar, plugin.
Plugin Names
Can I change my plugin’s name after it’s approved?
Yes and no. You can change the display name, but the slug — that part of the plugin URL that is yours — cannot be changed once a plugin is approved. That’s why we warn you, multiple times, upon submission.
To change the display name, edit your main plugin file and change the value of “Plugin Name:” to the new name. You also will want to edit your header in your readme.txt to match.
Why can’t I use someone’s trademark/brand as my plugin name?
Simply put, because you’re not them.
If you have written an add-on plugin for BooCommerce, you may not name it “BooCommerce Improved Product Search” as that would generate the slug boocommerce-improved-product-search and that would conflict with the trademark of ‘BooCommerce.’ That said, it would be acceptable to submit the name “Boo Improved Product Search” which would use the slug bc-improved-product-search (“bc” not being trademarked you see).
As another example, if you have a plugin that integrates a service with a a popular cloud hosting company named Amazorn, you may call it “My Service Integration for Amazorn”, but you may not use “Amazorn – My Service Integration”.
Consider the real life example of Keurig. If you made an eco-friendly brew cup, you could market it “EcoBrew Pod for Keurig” but you could NOT attempt to market it as “Keurig EcoBrew Pod.” The latter implies a direct relationship to Keurig and is actually against the law in some countries. In order to protect you, we need you to tread lightly with recognized brand names and trademarks. Always err on the side of caution; if they come and tell us to close your plugin because you used their term as the first word in the display name, we have to do it.
Note: We no longer have permission to permit new plugins to use woo as the start of their permalink, and are required to enforce the use of wc instead.
Can a company give me permission to use their trademark in my permalink?
No.
While we understand that companies can and do grant usage permissions, we do not accept them for permalinks for a really important reason: we cannot change your permalink once the plugin is approved. This means if, later on, the company changes their mind and rescinds approval, the plugin will be closed and all of it’s users abandoned.
In order to be forward thinking and proactive about a plugin’s long-term life in the directory, we do not accept ‘permission.’ A permalink may not begin with a trademark (or commonly known brand/term) unless it is by the official owners.
Can I change my plugin’s URL/slug?
It’s impossible to change a plugin’s URL once it’s approved and we warn you about that in multiple places through the process.
Due to that, we deny most requests for ‘new’ plugins to replace old ones just to get a better slug.
This is because we cannot migrate users between plugins nor can we redirect traffic. This means that submitted a new plugin to change a slug is incredibly detrimental to the plugin’s SEO and reputation, as users will be abandoned. The majority of plugins don’t actually need a new URL, and instead just want to edit their display name.
Unless there’s an egregious typo, language, or legal issue related to your slug, we are unlikely to approve a new slug. If we do, we will flag your account to note that future rename requests are to be denied.
How do I change my plugin’s display name?
You’ll need to change it in the readme and the plugin main file.
Can I make my display name anything?
Don’t use vulgarities or slurs or other intentionally abusive language. You cannot claim, or appear to claim, to be an official source if you’re not. For example, if you’ve made a plugin that connects to the Frozbaz Service, you should call your plugin “Connector to Frozbaz Service” – in this way, you have made it clear you are making a plugin for a service, rather than being the service.
If you’re combining multiple services (a payment gateway to a popular ecommerce plugin, for example), we strongly recommend you come up with an original, unique, display name.
Can I use WordPress or Plugin in my display name?
Currently yes, but you shouldn’t. It’s incredibly redundant and doesn’t actually help your SEO in any way, shape, or form. We already put WordPress and Plugin in your page title.
Should I use the trademark or registered symbol in my plugin name?
Assuming you actually did apply for trademarks, you certainly can but it’s not commonly done. Not even Google or Facebook do that. Simply by using your trademark term and having a log of it (like your SVN log), you have usually done the needed legal action required to protect your brand. Consult a lawyer for details.
Search
How long will it take for my plugin to show up in search?
Usually 6 to 14 days after a plugin is committed to SVN. This is because we have to add your data, parse it, and share it to all of our heavily cached servers. It’s not instantaneous. Also as a new plugin, we have no data on usage, so you may need to wait a bit.
How do I rank higher?
Write a good readme for the language, answer support posts promptly, get good reviews.
What’s weighted more, my URL or my display name?
Neither. Make your display name memorable and descriptive, while keeping it under 5 words, for maximum benefit.
The Support Forums
How do I get notified for forums posts?
Go to https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/YOURPLUGIN and look at the sidebar on the right. Click the Subscribe to this Plugin button for email alerts.
How do I get notified for all my plugins?
Every plugin support forum page has a “Subscribe” button at the top of it. Click that and you will be emailed. You can see which plugin forums sets you are subscribed to at https://wordpress.org/support/users/YOURID/subscriptions
For RSS, visit https://wordpress.org/support/view/plugin-committer/YOURID will list all of the support requests and reviews for any plugin you have commit access. Not a committer, just someone listed as an author? Use https://wordpress.org/support/view/plugin-contributor/YOURID
You can also go to https://profiles.wordpress.org/YOURID/profile/notifications/ and put in any terms you want to be emailed for. Be careful, this can escalate if you use generic terms.
How do I give a support account access to my plugin?
You can add Support Representatives to your plugin. Support representatives can mark forum topics as resolved or sticky (same as plugin authors and contributors), but don’t have commit access to the plugin.
The UI for managing plugin support reps can be found in Advanced View on the plugin page, next to managing committers. Once someone is added as a support rep, they will get a Plugin Support badge when replying to the plugin support topics or reviews.
Will you delete bad reviews or comments on my plugin?
Generally no. A review is a reflection of an individual’s experience with your product. If they didn’t like it, that’s not for us to change. If you feel that a review is invalid (such as for a different plugin), use the modlook button on the post. A member of the forums team will investigate.
Abuse of the modlook feature may result in suspension of your plugins. Please, use it wisely.
What is ‘Sockpuppeting’?
That’s what happens when someone makes multiple accounts on the forums, usually to give themselves a number of 5-star reviews, or create fake support tickets to appear more responsive. Sockpuppeting is against our guidelines and will result in the reviews and posts being removed, but also may result in your account and all plugins being removed. Don’t do it and don’t flagrantly accuse others of doing it.
Closed Plugins
How do I close my plugin?
As of April 2020, you can close your own plugins at any time. To do so, go to the advanced tab on your plugin page (i.e. https://wordpress.org/plugins/myplugin/advanced/) and scroll down to the CLOSE THIS PLUGIN section. There you will see a warning message and a button.