Markdown for WordPress and bbPress
by mitcho (Michael Yoshitaka Erlewine) · Uncategorized
Also makes 14 other plugins · 4.8K+ installs across the portfolio →
A text-to-HTML conversion tool for web writers
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
D 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
50+
≈58 estimated
Momentum
+41%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “encoding”, “format” and “formatting” 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.
45 health vs 58 average across 25,755 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.4%
of downloads still active
At least 50 of 13.8K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,772 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 18+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 2.5.1, well behind 6.8.
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 6738 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 2.5.1; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 1 review, smoothed to 4.12★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 6738 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.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| encoding your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| format your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| formatting your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| post your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| text your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “encoding”, “format” and “formatting” 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 197 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #20,100 to #21,300, alongside the other plugins at 50+ 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 1 Nov 2026.
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
18.5y ago
latest release · v1.0 · 21 May 2008
1
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% 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 “50+”. 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 60.
Install history since 24 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ purestblue13.5y ago
I installed this on WordPress version… ooh, quite young… yes, it’s not been updated, but what is there to update? I installed it again when I migrated to 3.5.1 on a new server (and migrated all my data) and it just worked. It’s one of those fit and forget solutions, I didn’t even know I needed it until I checked my posts and they were showing markdown in the body. So I went off and found it – I was a bit apprehensive at first because the WP site says it’s old and not updated, but it installed fine and immediately my posts were displaying as they should. I’ll probably completely forget about it again and when I next migrate my site I’ll be chasing all over the web trying to find it again. I’ve not tried any of the other markdown plugins so I can’t say how it performs in comparison. All I know is that I can write my (infrequent) posts in a text editor, in markdown, upload it and it displays right and the links work. Does exactly what it says on the can.
Read on wp.org ↗
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
1 of 8 pass · checked 29 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 Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! 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 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 324 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("Encoding", "formatting", "post" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-07 60+ → 50+ down after 178 days in tier
- 2026-02-10 70+ → 60+ down after 220 days in tier
- 2025-07-05 80+ → 70+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2025-06-29 70+ → 80+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-06-27 80+ → 70+ down after 179 days in tier
- 2024-12-30 90+ → 80+ down after 7 days in tier
- 2024-12-23 80+ → 90+ up after 17 days in tier
- 2024-12-06 90+ → 80+ down after 110 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).
- W WP Typograph Lite 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags D
- A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A
- C Custom Shortcodes 5K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
-
wpuntexturize 900+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags C -
Preserve Code Formatting 400+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B -
Post Duplicator 200K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Markdown for WordPress and bbPress into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/markdown-for-wordpress-and-bbpress" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Markdown for WordPress and bbPress — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Markdown for WordPress and bbPress: 50+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/markdown-for-wordpress-and-bbpress
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