Pigeon Pack
by Lew Ayotte · Email & Marketing
Also makes 4 other plugins · 220+ installs across the portfolio →
Free and easy email marketing, newsletters, and campaigns; built into your WordPress dashboard!
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 44/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
10+
≈15 estimated
Momentum
+50%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: “campaign”, “email” and “email marketing” 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.
44 health vs 66 average across 2,135 Email & Marketing plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.2%
of downloads still active
At least 10 of 5.2K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Email & Marketing plugin keeps 0.9%, across 1,298 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Email & Marketing 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 9+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.8.34, well behind 7.1.
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 3560 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.8.34; the current branch is 7.1
3.8★ over 4 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.1★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3560 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| pigeon | #14 | #9 | 0 |
| campaign your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| email your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| email marketing your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| newsletter your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| widget your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search 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
- “campaign”, “email” and “email marketing” 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 7 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 84 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #30,400 to #44,800, alongside the other plugins at 10+ 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.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
9.8y ago
latest release · v1.3.0 · 4 Feb 2017
16
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 “10+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 years ago; the previous band took 2.8 years to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 21 Jul 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ sheddies10.1y ago
I cannot figure out how to send an email. If some succinct instructions were available this plugin would probably rate a 5. This topic was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by sheddies.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ronin Creativos11.8y ago
So far so good. I havent tested extensively but looks promising and it works as expected. some variables are not picking up but– i cant really tell cause i dunno how to use some of them or what are they for. (see below) on the downside, theres no documentation that i know of, so i was more like trial/error exploring. not good. (for instance, “update post button” actually -sends- the email again.. which is not so intuitive and can be *very* troubling. hence the 4 stars. something else: developers should **really** consider change the name as its registered in the wp market, cause under “email marketing” is nowhere to be found. actually i bumped into it searching for a “pack” of something completely different. oo i would definetly buy this when/if its completed.. kudos
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ bbbear12.2y ago
I used every last crappy, broken, and bloated subscription plugin in the wordpress directory. What a headache. Then Pigeon Pack was like a digital aspirin. Installation and congiguration were quick. This plugin does exactly what is needed and it actually works! It sends emails to subscribers without a hitch. 100 subscribers or 5000, no limits. The email campaing design is just like styling a wordpress post – no overcomplicated magic bloat. Right tool, right job.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Mike12.3y ago
For a non-guified plugin, it’s easy to setup campaigns and lists. Just a few simple settings to get the newsletter setup done and comes with shortcode for placing a sign-up box on your site. Well done plugin all around!
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.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 31 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 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 2 of 4 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("SPAM Laws").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Mailchimp, Salesforce.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,468 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2023-11-02 20+ → 10+ down after 1018 days in tier
- 2021-01-18 30+ → 20+ down
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).
-
Mailjet Email Marketing 10K+ installs · 3.3★ · 3 shared tags B -
EnvíaloSimple: Email Marketing y Newsletters 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags A -
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Pigeon Pack into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/pigeon-pack" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Pigeon Pack — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Pigeon Pack: 10+ active installs, 3.8★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-04. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/pigeon-pack
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