How and Why You Should Leave Reviews on WordPress

Are you wondering how to leave plugin and theme reviews on WordPress.org?

WordPress is a community built around the open-source philosophy. Developers, designers, and marketers contribute by lending their skills and sharing their plugins/themes.

As a user, there are many ways you can help out as well. One of them is by leaving reviews of products that you use.

In this article, we will talk about how and why you should leave reviews on WordPress.

How Do Reviews Work on WordPress?

First of all, there are two different WordPress platforms. There is WordPress.com, which is a hosting solution, and then there is WordPress.org, also known as self-hosted WordPress. See our comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org for more details.

In this article, we will be talking about WordPress.org, which is home to the open-source WordPress CMS platform that we all love. It is the place where you can get around 60,000 free WordPress plugins and hundreds of free WordPress themes for your website.

Just like WordPress, all these themes and plugins are open-source software. This means that developers of these plugins and themes don’t get paid by WordPress.org for sharing their products. Learn more about who owns WordPress and how it makes money.

When you browse the plugin or theme directory on WordPress.org, you will find reviews for the software in the search results.

You can also read each review in the Reviews tab.

You can add your own review as well.

Why Should You Add Reviews on WordPress.org?

If you are using a plugin or theme and you find it useful, then your review can help other users make the right decision.

Users are usually less likely to install and try plugins or themes with fewer installs and no star ratings. This means newer plugins and themes may go unnoticed even if they are good and really useful.

With your review, you can change that, and more users will start using that plugin on their WordPress websites.

It is also in your interest to do so. Good reviews help developers find motivation to continue a project and give it their time and skills. Without proper feedback, they may feel demotivated and abandon the plugin/theme.

What If I Have a Negative Review?

Negative reviews are not bad. However, before adding your negative review, you should try to reach out to the plugin author through the Support tab.

Sometimes plugin authors make mistakes, and your support request can prompt them to help you or quickly release a fix. Learn more about how to ask for free WordPress support and get it.

If you can’t get help with your issues, then you are free to share your negative review. However, please be respectful in the way you share your negative feedback about a FREE product.

How to Leave Reviews For Plugins and Themes on WordPress.org

First, you’ll need a free WordPress.org account. Go to WordPress.org’s plugin or theme directory page and click on the ‘Register’ link in the top right corner of the screen.

Once you are logged in, you can go to the plugin’s page and click on the ‘Reviews’ tab. You will see other reviews for the plugin.

Simply scroll down to the bottom of the page, and you will see the ‘Create a new review’ section.

You need to provide a title for your review and then select the star rating that you’d like to give this plugin. Next, you can write your detailed review.

For WordPress themes, you can go to the theme’s page and then click on the ‘Add your review’ button.

Tips for Writing Helpful Reviews

If you find a plugin or theme useful, then feel free to describe how it worked. You can describe that it is easy to use and how it helped you improve your WordPress blog or website.

Feel free to add any suggestions you have for improvement. This helps developers figure out the most wanted features their users need, and they can prioritize those improvements.

On the other hand, if you find a bad plugin or theme, then first, you will want to make sure that it is an issue with the plugin or theme. That’s why you should first try the support forum to see if there is a solution.

If you are unable to get help, then you can go ahead and add your review. Make sure that you are polite and respectful in your review. Describe the problem and the issue with the plugin or theme.

Most of the time, the plugin or theme author will respond to your negative review and will try to solve the issue you are facing. Once the issue is resolved, you can change your rating and review for the plugin.

You want to make sure that your review is polite. Make it helpful by describing what you found missing from the plugin. Provide more details about the issues, and don’t forget to add your suggestions for possible solutions.

Many plugin and theme developers are often very grateful for a polite and well-written negative review. In fact, we have seen some developers go to great lengths to convert a negative review into a 5-star review.

We hope this article helped you learn how and why you should leave reviews on WordPress. You may also want to learn how to translate a WordPress plugin in your language or see our expert picks of the best WordPress review plugins.

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