How support threads affect your ranking (and how to answer them)
Oct 28, 2026
Every plugin on WordPress.org has a support forum, and its sidebar shows how many issues were resolved in the last two months. Plugin search uses that count too: it’s one of the six numbers your score is multiplied by. For small and mid-sized plugins it’s also the factor that moves fastest, because each resolved thread counts straight away. This guide covers the exact factor, what counts as resolved, and a routine for keeping the count up without spending all day in the forum.
The factor
WordPress.org’s search code reads one number: the support threads resolved in the last two months. It turns that into a factor with log10(2 + 0.25 × resolved):
| Resolved in the last two months | Factor |
|---|---|
| 0 | ×0.30 |
| 2 | ×0.40 |
| 4 | ×0.48 |
| 8 | ×0.60 |
| 20 | ×0.85 |
| 32 | ×1.00 |
| 50 | ×1.16 |
| 100 | ×1.43 |
| 200 | ×1.72 |
Three things follow.
It counts resolved threads, not your resolve rate. Resolving 8 out of 8 threads scores the same as resolving 8 out of 40. The share appears in your sidebar, where users see it, but search only uses the count.
Open threads don’t lower your score directly. An unresolved thread costs you nothing in the formula; it’s a resolved thread you haven’t earned. That’s why the work that pays is closing the threads you’ve already answered.
Small counts move the most. The curve is a logarithm, so each extra resolved thread is worth more when you have few:
| Going from | To | Your whole score is multiplied by |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2 | ×1.32 |
| 10 | 12 | ×1.07 |
| 100 | 102 | ×1.01 |
For a plugin with a quiet forum, two more resolved threads can be worth as much as a jump in install band. For a very large plugin, the same two threads barely register.
The two-month window
The count only covers the last two months, so it runs on its own clock. A thread you resolved ten weeks ago has already dropped out. If you clear a backlog in one weekend and then stop, the factor rises and then slides back down as those threads age out.
The steady approach scores better: resolve threads every week, so the count stays level rather than spiking.
What counts as resolved
A thread counts when it’s marked resolved in the forum. Answering it isn’t enough. The person who opened the topic can mark it resolved, and so can the plugin’s developers with commit access. Many users never come back to do it, so if you don’t mark your answered threads, a lot of real support work never reaches your score.
Mark a thread resolved when:
- you’ve answered and the user confirmed it worked;
- you’ve answered and the user has gone quiet for a couple of days;
- it turned out to be a conflict with another plugin or theme, and you’ve said so;
- it’s a feature request you’ve acknowledged and logged.
Don’t mark a thread resolved while the user is still waiting on you. Users notice, and it tends to come back as a worse review.
A routine that keeps the count up
- Reply within a day or two. WordPress.org doesn’t score speed, but a quick reply gets a quick answer back, and the thread can be closed sooner. A thread answered after a week often never hears from the user again.
- Answer the question, then ask one thing. End with something like “Let me know if that fixes it; if I don’t hear back in a few days I’ll mark this resolved.” It tells the user what happens next, and it gives you permission to close it.
- Sweep twice a week. Go through threads where you replied last and the user has been quiet for two days or more, and mark them resolved.
- Turn repeats into FAQ entries. If the same question comes up three times, add it to your readme’s FAQ. Future users find the answer without opening a thread, and your replies get shorter because you can point to it.
- Watch the weeks after a release. A release that breaks something brings a burst of threads. Answer those first: they decide your next two months, and unhappy users there are also the ones who leave 1-star reviews. How to get more 5-star reviews on WordPress.org covers that side.
Where it sits among the six factors
Support is the fastest of the six factors you control directly. Freshness and “Tested up to” are fixed by a release or a readme edit, but once they’re at ×1.00 they can’t go higher. Installs take months, and the rating moves slowly. The resolved count can rise every week, and it keeps rising well past ×1.00, where the rating tops out at ×1.12.
The full picture is in How WordPress.org plugin search ranking works. To see what your support count is worth in a particular search, the Rank Simulator can recompute your position with a different number of resolved threads.
Doing it with TrackWP
TrackWP’s support desk, on the FullCharge plan, lists your plugin’s open threads with a reply deadline for each. It sorts them into three groups: threads that need a reply, threads waiting on the user, and threads ready to resolve because you replied last and the user has been quiet for two days. It also shows how many places resolving the ready ones could win you, and it can draft replies from your readme’s FAQ and description. See pricing for what each plan includes.