Parse Markdown
by Ben Marshall · Uncategorized
Also makes 3 other plugins · 80+ installs across the portfolio →
Integrate Markdown into WordPress. Simple, no configuration-required, standards-driven plugin allowing commenters to use Markdown in their comments.
Removed from WordPress.org
wp.org closed this plugin on 2026-10-04 — at the author’s request. It's no longer installable or updated. If you're running it, plan a replacement: closures are often security-related and WordPress won't warn you.
Health
Not scored
no reviews to score from
Active installs
20+
≈27 estimated
Momentum
-10%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “code” and “markdown” 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.
Not scored yet. Nobody has reviewed this plugin, so a grade would come from directory averages rather than from anything measured here.
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.3%
of downloads still active
At least 20 of 1.6K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,769 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.
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 2264 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.5.20; the current branch is 6.8
No reviews yet, so wp.org scores it as a middling unrated listing
2 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2264 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| code your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| markdown your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “code” and “markdown” 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 · 1,442 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 69 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #25,300 to #28,300, alongside the other plugins at 20+ 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.
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
6.2y ago
latest release · v1.0.1 · 19 Aug 2020
2
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 “20+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 70% of the way through.
Install history since 4 Oct 2022
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 5.7.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 4 languages, 4 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
Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
Not checked yet. The readme could not be read from WordPress.org on this visit.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-14 30+ → 20+ down after 14 days in tier
- 2026-06-30 20+ → 30+ up after 70 days in tier
- 2026-04-21 30+ → 20+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2026-04-15 20+ → 30+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-04-12 30+ → 20+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-04-10 20+ → 30+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-04-09 30+ → 20+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-04-07 20+ → 30+ up after 3 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-Markdown 300+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
-
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
Code Snippets 1M+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Head & Footer Code 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Simple Custom CSS Plugin 100K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag C -
Shortcoder — Create Shortcodes for Anything 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Parse Markdown into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/parse-markdown" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Parse Markdown — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Parse Markdown: 20+ active installs, no reviews yet. Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/parse-markdown
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