Plugin audit
Newsletter
Newsletter has urgent issues capping its growth.
Active installs
10+
Rating
5.0★
wp.org · 4 reviews
Downloads / 30d
66
Momentum
+17% low volume
30d vs the 30d before
Against 2104 tracked Email & Marketing plugins: health 42 vs 67 average · rating, weighted for review count, 4.2★ vs 3.8★.
Where it ranks in wp.org search
Not yet in the top 24 results for any search we track. The fixes below are what move it in.
Tags still to break into the top 24: newsletter, notifications, subscription form.
What to fix first
- 1
Patch and release an advisory before anything else.
Open security vulnerability. A known unpatched vulnerability is recorded against this plugin.
- 2
Ship a compatibility release to reset the freshness signal.
No update in 62 months. wp.org search heavily penalizes stale plugins, and users look for a recent release.
- 3
Set "Tested up to" to WordPress 7.1
Tested up to WordPress 5.8.19; the current branch is 7.1. Matching the current branch keeps its full search weight.
- 4
Ask happy users for a review
4 reviews so far. wp.org gives the rating more weight as the count grows past 25.
- 5
“newsletter”, “notifications” and “subscription form” aren't earning a slot
You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
- 6
Readme fails 5 of 8 AI readiness checks
Rewrite the readme so each failed check passes: say the job in the first line, answer real questions in the FAQ, name who it is for and what it works with, and use headings and lists.
Ranking signals
Listing score 37/100
- Update recency Holding it back
Updated 1850 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
- WP compatibility Holding it back
Tested up to WordPress 5.8.19; the current branch is 7.1
- Rating quality Holding it back
5.0★ over 4 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.2★ and held back under 25 reviews
- Listing tuning Strong
3 of 5 tags set · short description under 30 characters
What we found
Open security vulnerability
CriticalA known unpatched vulnerability is recorded against this plugin.
What to do: Patch and release an advisory before anything else.
No update in 62 months
Criticalwp.org search heavily penalizes stale plugins, and users look for a recent release.
What to do: Ship a compatibility release to reset the freshness signal.
Readme fails 5 of 8 AI readiness checks
Needs workAI assistants recommend what they can quote. Failing: says what it does, has a faq, faq asks real questions, names who it is for and headings and lists. Short description is 10 characters, too short to say what the plugin does.
What to do: Rewrite the readme so each failed check passes: say the job in the first line, answer real questions in the FAQ, name who it is for and what it works with, and use headings and lists. For the same check on your plugin's own website, run the free AI visibility scan from AgentVania.
Run the free AI visibility scan →Review volume is thin
OpportunityOnly 4 ratings. A handful of reviews makes your star average fragile and weakens trust at install time.
What to do: Run a structured in-plugin review prompt and a review campaign.
Small download base. 66 downloads in 30 days, so a +17% move is a few installs rather than a trend.
Light support activity. Few recent support threads, so there is no backlog to report.
Downloads, last 2 years
From our own archive, not wp.org's current-week figure.
WP Mayor
Plugin promotion & growth
Work through the fixes, then put Newsletter in front of the right audience.
WP Mayor reviews and newsletter features reach WordPress users who are choosing plugins.
- A WP Mayor review. An independent, in-depth review in front of a high-intent audience.
- Newsletter coverage. A feature in the WP Mayor newsletter, straight to subscribers.
- A sponsored placement. Targeted visibility across WP Mayor for a defined campaign.