ForumWP – Forum & Discussion Board
by Ultimate Member · Login & Users
Also makes 2 other plugins · 201.7K+ installs across the portfolio →
Add a forum to your website with ForumWP.
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
B 77/100
no flags
Active installs
800+
≈880 estimated
Momentum
+45%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “reply” and “topic” for “forums” and “board”. “reply” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “forums” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “topic” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “board” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
77 health vs 61 average across 2,203 Login & Users plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.4%
of downloads still active
At least 800 of 33.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Login & Users plugin keeps 0.7%, across 1,476 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Login & Users plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 5 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 213 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.9.11, the current branch or newer
3.6★ over 12 reviews, smoothed to 4.00★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
35
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.7
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
17%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| discussion board | #3 | #7 | 0 |
| discussion | #9 | #19 | down 2 |
| forum your tag | #19 | #22 | down 5 |
| discussion forum | #7 | #17 | up 2 |
| board | #24 | #20 | 0 |
| discussion forum plugin | #10 | #19 | — |
| forums | #23 | #24 | down 1 |
| reply your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| topic your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| user profile your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| user registration your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
25 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 7 listed. 18 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
- Swap “reply” and “topic” for “forums” and “board”. “reply” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “forums” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “topic” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “board” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- Slipping on “forum”. Down 5 places since 2026-09-18, now #19. Check what shipped around then, and what moved above you.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 2.8K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
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.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
5
releases in the last 12 months
7mo ago
latest release · v2.1.9 · 1 Apr 2026
13
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 88% 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 “800+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 900.
Install history since 20 Sep 2021
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 6 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (2.1.9). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 6.4 ForumWP – Forum & Discussion Board <= 2.1.6 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Display Name ↗2026-01-05 CVE-2025-13746 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.1.6 Patched in 2.1.7
- 2024-12-05 CVE-2024-10879 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.1.2 Patched in 2.1.3
- Patched Medium · 6.1 ForumWP – Forum & Discussion Board <= 2.1.2 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via url Parameter ↗2024-12-05 CVE-2024-11204 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.1.2 Patched in 2.1.3
- Patched High · 8.8 ForumWP – Forum & Discussion Board Plugin <= 2.0.2 - Insecure Direct Object Reference to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation via Account Takeover ↗2024-09-06 CVE-2024-8428 Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key Affects <= 2.0.2 Patched in 2.1.0
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 5 languages, 1 at 90% or more
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
2 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Add a forum to your website with ForumWP."
- ! 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 Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 1 list.
- ! Enough to quote 701 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("reply", "user profile", "User Registration" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-07 900+ → 800+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-08-06 800+ → 900+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-08-05 900+ → 800+ down after 17 days in tier
- 2026-07-19 800+ → 900+ up after 22 days in tier
- 2026-06-27 900+ → 800+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-06-24 800+ → 900+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-06-22 900+ → 800+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-06-20 800+ → 900+ up after 1 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).
- B bbPress auto subscribe for new topics and replies 80+ installs · 3.9★ · 3 shared tags D
-
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content – ProfilePress 100K+ installs · 3.1★ · 2 shared tags B -
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for ForumWP – Forum & Discussion Board into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/forumwp" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="ForumWP – Forum & Discussion Board — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> ForumWP – Forum & Discussion Board: 800+ active installs, 3.6★ (12 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/forumwp
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