bbPress Members Only
by Tomas · Membership
Also makes 12 other plugins · 6.9K+ installs across the portfolio →
bbPress Members Only restricts Your bbPress forums to logged in/registered members.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
C 60/100
Stale · Few reviews
Active installs
100+
≈200 estimated
Momentum
+12%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “bbpress”, “community” and “membership” 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.
60 health vs 71 average across 298 Membership plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.7%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 14.4K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Membership plugin keeps 0.9%, across 165 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Membership plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 709 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.7.11; the current branch is 6.8
3.6★ over 5 reviews, smoothed to 4.05★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 709 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
45
Momentum
Holding steady
0.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
33%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+0.7
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| bbpress members only your tag | #18 | #23 | up 1 |
| bbpress your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| community your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| membership your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| restricts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
3 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 2 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “bbpress”, “community” and “membership” 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.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 413 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 82% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 20 days ago and the previous band took 21 months to cross, so the real count is still just under 200.
Install history since 23 Jun 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ mllapan3.9y ago
This plugin is not working at all.Everything is open no matter what settings I use. This topic was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by mllapan.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jupiterkat5.5y ago
This plugin saved me a lot of time and headaches. I personally had to make two adjustments. I had to use the bbPress shortcode on a page for it to work properly. Also, whenever the user was getting rerouted to the register page, it was stripping the HTTPS for some reason. I was able to fix this by going into the bbp-members-only.php file and editing lines 234, 240, 326, and 338 and changing the http:// to https://
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ars1117.1y ago
Plugin is not working on Google Chrome at all. When developers fix this issue, then I’ll change my rating.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dater8.7y ago
Forum index is shown, content redirects to the login. This topic was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by dater. Reason: Errors found
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ angeljs8.8y ago
Does exactly what it says – really great little plugin! This topic was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by angeljs.
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (1.8.1). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2019-12-26 Cross-Site Request Forgery Affects <= 1.2.1 Patched in 1.3.1
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.7.1
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 26 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions bbPress.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 2 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 3,841 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "community", "membership" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-11 200+ → 100+ down after 634 days in tier
- 2025-01-15 300+ → 200+ down after 14 days in tier
- 2025-01-01 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-12-31 300+ → 200+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-12-30 200+ → 300+ up after 8 days in tier
- 2024-12-22 300+ → 200+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-12-21 200+ → 300+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2024-12-19 300+ → 200+ down after 4 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
wpForo Forum 20K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A - U Ultimate Member – reCAPTCHA 20K+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Youzify – BuddyPress Community, User Profile, Social Network & Membership Plugin for WordPress 5K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags B -
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for bbPress Members Only into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/bbp-members-only" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="bbPress Members Only — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> bbPress Members Only: 100+ active installs, 3.6★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/bbp-members-only
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