Title: A Year in the Plugins Review Team – 2024
Author: David Perez
Published: December 31, 2024
Last modified: January 6, 2025

---

 [  ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidperez/) [David Perez](https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidperez/)
4:05 pm _on_ December 31, 2024      

# A Year in the Plugins Review Team – 2024

It’s been a transformative year of growth in the WordPress Plugins Directory, particularly
as the Plugins Team welcomed several new members onboard. Throughout this time, 
we remained focused on our primary goals: enhancing security, improving the review
process, and fostering community engagement.

Our security efforts have focused on creating tools to benefit all developers, including
the introduction of mandatory PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing
a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality
or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in
the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can 
be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/)
or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. Check for new plugin submissions,
2FA in SVNSVN Short for "SubVersioN", it's the code management system used to maintain
the plugins hosted on WordPress.org. It's similar to git. and our renovated Internal
Scanner Tool. These features, detailed[ here](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2024/10/01/plugin-check-and-2fa-now-mandatory-for-new-plugin-submissions/),
enhance security and streamline the submission process. Additionally, the SVN Password
feature has become a critical measure to prevent account theft and related issues.

When it comes to reviews, it remains our most time-intensive task, reflecting our
commitment to maintaining quality and trust within the Plugins directory.

Since September 2023, the plugin review queue—once around 1,300—has seen significant
improvements thanks to enhanced tools, refined workflows, and better submissions.
In October 2024, the queue even briefly hit zero. The Plugin Check plugin has been
key, enabling developers to improve code quality and security pre-submission, which
in turn has sped up reviews. Over the past year, 2,983 plugins have been approved,
and the number of reviews required per plugin has increased. That means that we 
now detect more issues per plugin.

The [Plugin Check plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugin-check/) has significantly
reduced the time for reviews, bringing the average wait time down from 37 weeks 
to 9 weeks, **even as plugin submissions have almost doubled**. In the past year,
we’ve reviewed 7,382 plugins—59,1% more than the previous year—while detecting more
issues through both automated and manual reviews than ever before. This has resulted
in faster, more thorough reviews despite the increased volume of submissions.

We have continued refining our Internal Scanner tool, a magnificent legacy created
by Mika Epstein, to streamline reviews and boost productivity. Recent updates, encompassing
over 400 commits, include new checks for issues like sanitize and escape, along 
with enhanced examples and personalized guides to help plugin authors effectively
resolve identified issues.

The tool now features over 200 checks, detecting a wide range of potential security-
related issues while also supporting reviewers in conducting thorough manual reviews.

The issues highlighted in the chart below account for approximately 80% of all issues
detected.

[[

For more reading about these and other common issues, you can [click here](https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-org/common-issues/).

With regard to improving the plugin development community, we have focused on migrating
and maintaining the Developer Handbook to GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that 
offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied
and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private 
repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘
pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed
and discussed before being merged by the repository owner. [https://github.com/](https://github.com/)
which can now accept contributions. 

The team is also participating in the Plugins tables at various contributor days
at WordCamps, helping and encouraging users to create their plugins whilst using
WordPress best practices.

We will aim to do this type of review each year, and until the next one, please 
remember to use [Plugin Check](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2024/09/17/introducing-plugin-check-pcp/)!
Adding it to your development workflow will save you effort, and countless hours.
As [our roadmap](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2024/12/24/plugin-check-goals-roadmap/)
outlines, we promise to increase its capacity, and usefulness.

Post written and reviewed by [@janmtm](https://profiles.wordpress.org/janmtm/) [@chriscct7](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chriscct7/)
[@frantorres](https://profiles.wordpress.org/frantorres/) [@davidperez](https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidperez/)

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 1.  ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/843d6bdf2ce104d96b205e682c4ecaab8567b2571caa7056a7f55a1d4d9b5521?
     s=32&d=mm&r=g)
 2.   [Neil Murray](https://profiles.wordpress.org/buzztone/)  10:45 pm _on_ December
     31, 2024
 3.  I’m so pleased to see the progress made in the Plugins Review Team since the retirement
     of the previous leadership. It’s been a fantastic turn-around following years 
     of little change.
 4.  The key changes I’ve seen are:
 5.   * shared leadership
      * improved transparency
      * creation of suitable team documentation & training
      * development of tools to improve processes for both the Plugins Review team &
        pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions
        that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or 
        add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written 
        in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These
        can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/)
        or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. developers
      * increased focus on help & education of plugin developers.
 6.  Thanks for a job well done as we look forward to even more improvements this year.
 7.  ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/05af8e6389461321fc36c69bbc8d955fb60d133f0b9917167ca5e95be7a9fdb7?
     s=32&d=mm&r=g)
 8.   [Vova Feldman](https://profiles.wordpress.org/svovaf/)  7:52 am _on_ January 
     1, 2025
 9.  Well done team!
 10. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1e0616296c4d26d92cb64457f967d9ac34aae2b2b1980e1fcf56af41183c5739?
     s=32&d=mm&r=g)
 11.  [Sarankumar](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sarankumar/)  12:11 pm _on_ January
     1, 2025
 12. We would like to express our gratitude to the pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece
     of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website.
     They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. 
     WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly
     with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/)
     or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. team for releasing the incredible
     Plugin Checker plugin. This tool has been a game-changer, helping developers address
     issues efficiently before submitting plugins for review. If the plugin review 
     process this year reduces the approval turnaround time, it would greatly encourage
     developers to submit new plugins.
 13. Last time, our plugin approval process was significantly delayed. We submitted
     it around September 5 and didn’t receive approval until February. Such delays 
     are demotivating, especially when contributing free versions to the repository.
 14. Again your dedication to enhancing the plugin ecosystem is truly appreciated!
 15. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4b04f3868d5d00557a0e117f43262a23de2b023b16cf33e18bf233ecce7e4515?
     s=32&d=mm&r=g)
 16.  [Hudson Atwell](https://profiles.wordpress.org/hudson-atwell/)  7:09 pm _on_ 
     January 6, 2025
 17. Great report!
 18. > “The PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions
     > that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add
     > new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the
     > PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can 
     > be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/)
     > or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. Check plugin has significantly
     > reduced the time for reviews, bringing the average wait time down from 37 weeks
     > to 9 weeks, even as plugin submissions have almost doubled.”
 19. Impressive. With the advent of LLM with IDEs like Windsurf and Cursor making rapid
     plugin development even easier, I imagine plugin submissions will increase again
     this year.
 20. Anything the plugin team can do to help developers find their way to a quality
     submission flow is appreciated, and the Plugin Check plugin is a great first line
     of defense. I had the pleasure of using it recently, and it really helped me tighten
     up my code.
 21. Keep going, ty and happy new year!
 22.  * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e3234efab8208053cf45df47344d5c5753e930f8c3832456b5769058d3b92e9e?
        s=32&d=mm&r=g)
      *  [8171ehsaas](https://profiles.wordpress.org/8171ehsaas/)  12:24 pm _on_ January
        29, 2025
      * The Plugins Review Team made great strides in 2024, focusing on enhancing efficiency,
        security, and collaboration in the WordPress ecosystem. Much like the [8171 Ehsaas Program](https://8171ehsaasprogram.net/)
        aims to support vulnerable communities by providing direct assistance, the 
        review team worked to simplify the process for developers and maintain high
        standards for plugins. Their commitment reduced review times and empowered 
        developers to create better products. With plans to incorporate AI tools and
        expand resources for new developers, the team is ensuring WordPress remains
        a user-friendly and secure platform in 2025.
 23. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/34cf25f1e9e57ca991886635eae1a6e1def975b2f46c72c292eb52e6b0447d2b?
     s=32&d=mm&r=g)
 24.  [jacks](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jacksasd13/)  9:53 am _on_ February 18,
     2025
 25. > A Year in the Plugins Review Team – 2024
     >  It’s been a transformative year of
     > growth in the WordPress Plugins Directory, particularly as the Plugins Team 
     > welcomed several new members onboard. Throughout this time, we remained focused
     > on our primary goals: enhancing security, improving the review process, and 
     > fostering community engagement.
     > Our security efforts have focused on creating tools to benefit all developers,
     > including the introduction of mandatory PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of 
     > software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website.
     > They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites.
     > WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate 
     > seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory
     > [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-
     > based plugin from a third-party. Check for new plugin submissions, 2FA in SVNSVN
     > Short for "SubVersioN", it's the code management system used to maintain the
     > plugins hosted on WordPress.org. It's similar to git. and our renovated Internal
     > Scanner Tool. These features, detailed here, enhance security and streamline
     > the submission process. Additionally, the SVN Password feature has become a 
     > critical measure to prevent account theft and related issues.
     > When it comes to reviews, it remains our most time-intensive task, reflecting
     > our commitment to maintaining quality and trust within the Plugins directory.
     > Since September 2023, the plugin review queue—once around 1,300—has seen significant
     > improvements thanks to enhanced tools, refined workflows, and better submissions.
     > In October 2024, the queue even briefly hit zero. The Plugin Check plugin has
     > been key, enabling developers to improve code quality and security pre-submission,
     > which in turn has sped up reviews. Over the past year, 2,983 plugins have been
     > approved, and the number of reviews required per plugin has increased. That 
     > means that we now detect more issues per plugin.
     > The Plugin Check plugin has significantly reduced the time for reviews, bringing
     > the average wait time down from 37 weeks to 9 weeks, even as plugin submissions
     > have almost doubled. In the past year, we’ve reviewed 7,382 plugins—59,1% more
     > than the previous year—while detecting more issues through both automated and
     > manual reviews than ever before. This has resulted in faster, more thorough 
     > reviews despite the increased volume of submissions.
     > We have continued refining our Internal Scanner tool, a magnificent legacy created
     > by Mika Epstein, to streamline reviews and boost productivity. Recent updates,
     > encompassing over 400 commits, include new checks for issues like sanitize and
     > escape, along with enhanced examples and personalized guides to help plugin 
     > authors effectively resolve identified issues.
     > The tool now features over 200 checks, detecting a wide range of potential security-
     > related issues while also supporting reviewers in conducting thorough manual
     > reviews.
     > The issues highlighted in the chart below account for approximately 80% of all
     > issues detected.
 26. It’s great to see the WordPress Plugins Review Team making such significant progress
     in improving security and streamlining the review process! The reduction in wait
     times and the introduction of tools like Plugin Check and the Internal Scanner
     Tool are major steps forward. These improvements not only help developers but 
     also enhance the overall security and quality of plugins available in the directory.
 27. For those looking to access restricted content or browse securely, check out YTCroxyProxy
     for a seamless [proxy solution](https://ytcroxyproxy.com/) . 🚀🔒
 28. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/8889b4a57ecde2336625792ad03fcfd1da1bba5dcafb626468799547fb0ec48d?
     s=32&d=mm&r=g)
 29.  [Chris White](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ashevillewebdesign/)  3:41 am _on_
     February 20, 2025
 30. Massive thanks for all of the hard work you guys are doing!

Comments are closed.

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