Guides
Guides for WordPress plugin authors
How WordPress.org search ranks plugins, how to get found, and what to check when downloads fall. Written from the directory's own search code, not guesswork.
How WordPress.org plugin search ranking works
What happens between typing a search on WordPress.org and seeing the results: which plugins get in, how the text match is scored, the six multipliers, and what the formula ignores.
Read the guideOct 28, 2026
How support threads affect your ranking (and how to answer them)
WordPress.org plugin search multiplies your score by the number of support threads resolved in the last two months. Here is the exact factor, what counts as resolved, and a routine that keeps the count up.
Read the guideOct 28, 2026
How to choose tags for a WordPress.org plugin
How many tags WordPress.org uses, how to pick between broad and narrow ones using real tag sizes, how to check the competition on each tag, and how to change tags without losing searches.
Read the guideOct 28, 2026
How to find a profitable WordPress plugin niche
How to read WordPress.org’s own data for a niche: how big it is, how concentrated, whether its leaders are ageing, whether newcomers break through, and how hard its searches are.
Read the guideOct 28, 2026
How to get more 5-star reviews on WordPress.org
What your rating does to your search score, what WordPress.org’s guidelines allow when you ask for reviews, how to ask without nagging, and how to handle 1- and 2-star reviews.
Read the guideOct 28, 2026
How to get more active installs for a WordPress plugin
How WordPress.org counts and rounds active installs, why installs follow search rather than lead it, and the changes that actually bring more sites to your plugin.
Read the guideOct 28, 2026
How to write a WordPress.org plugin readme that ranks
Which parts of readme.txt WordPress.org turns into your listing and reads for search, what each header field does, and a structure that covers both people and search.
Read the guideOct 28, 2026
Plugin vs theme: how WordPress.org search differs
Plugin search multiplies a text score by six published factors; theme search only filters by date and puts exact matches first. What each one’s code does, and what it means for authors.
Read the guideOct 28, 2026
What “Tested up to” does to your ranking
The exact curve WordPress.org plugin search applies to your readme’s “Tested up to” line, why one branch behind still scores in full, when it starts to cost you, and how to fix it without a release.
Read the guideOct 28, 2026
Why did my plugin drop in WordPress.org search?
A checklist for a fall in search position, in the order to check it: is the drop real, did your own numbers or listing change, and which plugins climbed past you.
Read the guideOct 28, 2026
How to choose a plugin name, short description and tags that search can find
Which listing fields WordPress.org plugin search reads, how much each one weighs, why every word of a search must appear, and the mistakes to avoid.
Read the guideOct 22, 2026
How to rank higher in WordPress.org plugin search
The six factors WordPress.org plugin search multiplies your score by, with the real numbers from its open-source code and what you can change for each one.
Read the guideOct 21, 2026
Why your plugin’s downloads dropped, and what to check
How to tell a real download drop from the end of a release spike, then the causes to check, from the 180-day decay to rival releases and closures.
Read the guideOct 22, 2026