Web Design and Development
How To Publicize Your WordPress Plugin
There are so many great WordPress plugins out there. Unfortunately, most of them get very little exposure and usage because they are not well publicized.
So here are three tips for getting the word out about your new plugin, and attract potential users.
1. Create An Informative, Well-Optimized Plugin Page
On your own website, create a page dedicated to the plugin. It should contain extensive documentation to aid users in learning about the plugin and instruct them on how to use it. At the very minimum, this page should include the following:
- detailed explanation of what the plugin does
- installation instructions
- usage instructions, including code samples and screenshots if necessary
- a list of frequently asked questions along with answers
- information on obtaining support
2. Submit It To The Official WordPress Plugin Directory
When people look for a plugin for their WP websites, the first thing they do is consult the plugin directory. So if your plugin is there, it will have potential for the greatest exposure. But there is a trick to getting found in the directory.
The search feature for the directory is based on the description and tags that you define for your plugin. So for maximum visibility, be sure to include all possible keywords that users might think of when trying to find your plugin.
(Note: To include your plugin in the WordPress directory, it needs to be licensed according to the GPL license, or another compatible alternative.)
3. Tell Everyone About The New Plugin Release
The next step is to spread the word about your new plugin. And there are lots of great ways to do this.
First, you need to submit your plugin to Weblog Tools Collection (WTC) and BloggingPro’s WordPress Plugins, two great websites which announce new plugins. Each of these websites have a large following, and the WTC plugin feed is syndicated by hundreds of websites. So submitting to this site will get you lots of inlinks and an equally nice surge in traffic.
Second, submit your plugin to other supplementary plugin databases. There are a few on the web, but the most popular is WordPress Plugin Database.
Third, get out there and start talking about your plugin. A great place to start is the WordPress.org support forums. There is a forum just for this purpose called Plugins and Hacks. Also, feel free to mention your plugin in other forums and on blogs.
And finally, don’t pass up any opportunity to market your plugin. Take advantage of friendships with other developers or website owners to see if they will help you publicize your plugin. When blog-surfing, suggest that bloggers incorporate it in their websites. And also, remember to keep mentioning your plugin on your own website, to encourage your visitors to use it as well.
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This post is very useful. Book marking it for future reference. I will hopefully be creating a plugin sooner or later lol and I might need these information.
Kurt Avish’s last blog post..January 2009 Monthly Roundup
Great tips! I agree there are some great plugins our there that no one knows about. I don’t know if I’ll ever create on (probably not) but this is still really useful.
Kim Woodbridge’s last blog post..(Anti) Social-Lists 2/1/09
@Kurt: Oh yeh? I’ll be waiting for something super spectacular!
@Kim: Indeed. I am always surprised when I come across some super useful plugin that no one really knows about… I should start to mention more of them on my blog to help get the word out.
Actually it depends on what kinda plugin it is right? Some plugins just publicizes itself!
Ben Pei’s last blog post..Internet Marketing Professionals - How to Earn Respect from the Online Community
@Ben: Hmmm. I don’t know about self-publicizing plugins… That’s like how people used to believe in: ‘Build it and they will come’.
You always need to publicize anything you put on the web. Of course, you can wait forever and hope search engines to find it…
He may be referring to plugins like commentluv…spread like wildfire with very little help lol.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..D.S.W.M. Monthly Article Round-Up Is Back!
Will definitely follow this when i come up with my own plugin. I have started it some days ago…
Thanks for the info.
Nihar’s last blog post..Friday Night Links Party - 30 January 2009
Great post, although I think you missed one really important point:
Use the plugin on your own blog! Show it in action.
It’s all very well talking about it, but you have to put your money where your mouth is
Ben Barden - Blog Tips’s last blog post..10 underused and neglected HTML tags
Need to go to the other directories than just WP one next time
My very first plugin received cold shoulders due to lack of marketing, mainly 
Ajith Edassery’s last blog post..SEO - Link Building Series: How Search Engines find your blog or website?
@Dennis: That may be, but that plugin did have to be promoted at its release.
@Nihar: I’ll be waiting to see your release.
@Ben: Very good tips. I do like it when plugin authors do use their plugin on their own blogs. Such as the developer over at lesterchan.net. He definitely showcases his plugins.
@Ajith: Yes, it is hard to get a plugin out there. And your plugin is pretty good. So, get the word out. Tell the world.