WP Spam Question Filter
by Otto Kekäläinen · Search
Also makes 3 other plugins · 6.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
This plugin fights comment and registration spam on your website.
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 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
2K+
≈2.6K estimated
Momentum
+39%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: “filter”, “honeypot” and “question” 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.
47 health vs 63 average across 980 Search plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →45%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 4.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Search plugin keeps 0.7%, across 647 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Search 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 6+ 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 2288 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.8.34; the current branch is 7.1
5.0★ over 4 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.2★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2288 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| seravo your tag | #3 | #3 | down 1 |
| filter your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| honeypot your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| question your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| spam your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 1 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
- “filter”, “honeypot” and “question” 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 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 285 · 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
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
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
9.0y ago
latest release · v1.0.1 · 6 Nov 2017
3
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 “2K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 8 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 65% of the way through.
Install history since 14 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Seravo.com6.6y ago
Crude and simple, but works as it should.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jon Hardison11.8y ago
Thank you! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Been running AKISMET for years and while I have a very low number of uncaught SPAMs across all the sites we manage, the volume of comments many of our sites are process was ridiculous! I mean in the 200 – 4000 per day range. The nice thing about this is that it made seeing what plugins worked (and which didn’t) really easy. Install, activate, wait 5 minutes for a pass or fail. Of all the ones I tested, yours was the only one that actually worked and I couldn’t be happier. Sure, one or two still make it through, but when you’re talking about the difference between 15 total SPAMs an hour across 50 sites and 25K… It’s like I got a free server for using your plug-in. Just wanted to say thanx! 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Otto Kekäläinen12.4y ago
Does exactly what it needs to do very well, and nothing extra.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Viljami Kuosmanen12.4y ago
No captcha, no pain. So simple.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
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
1 of 8 pass · checked 2 Nov 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 Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 427 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "honeypot" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-03-11 1K+ → 2K+ up after 54 days in tier
- 2026-01-16 900+ → 1K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-01-15 800+ → 900+ up after 6 days in tier
- 2026-01-09 700+ → 800+ up after 15 days in tier
- 2025-12-25 600+ → 700+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-12-24 500+ → 600+ up after 6 days in tier
- 2025-12-18 300+ → 500+ up after 4 days in tier
- 2025-12-14 200+ → 300+ 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).
-
Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A - M Message Filter for Contact Form 7 1K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A
-
Honeypot Anti Spam for Forminator Forms 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags C -
Anti-Captcha (anti-spam botblocker) 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D -
Honeypot Plus for Contact Form 7 900+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP Spam Question Filter into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-spam-question-filter" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP Spam Question Filter — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP Spam Question Filter: 2K+ active installs, 5.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-spam-question-filter
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