Often our users ask us about the warning that a plugin is not tested with their version of WordPress. Should you install plugins that plugin? or find another plugin? In this article, we will discuss why you should install plugins not tested with your version of WordPress? What does it mean and how you can help the WordPress community?
When you install a plugin from WordPress admin area, you may see a warning that a plugin is not been tested with your version of WordPress.
How WordPress Gets Not Tested Information?
The official WordPress plugin repository is the largest collection of free and open source WordPress plugins. When submitting the plugin, authors are required to submit a “readme” file with their plugins. This readme file is then used by the plugin directory to generate plugin page.
The readme file contains the “tested up to” tag which is used to display the information. Plugin authors are expected to keep this information up to date.
This means that with each release of WordPress, plugin authors should test their plugins and update the readme files for their plugins.
Why Don’t Plugin Authors Update This Information?
Many plugin authors don’t update their readme files at all even when they test their plugin with the latest version.
In an ideal world, we would like all plugin authors to update this information. But we don’t live in an ideal world.
Remember that these plugins are free, and you are not paying authors to download and use them. Plugin authors feel less inclined to update the readme file with each release. They are usually busy with their full time jobs and paid development projects.
Video Tutorial
If you don’t like the video or need more instructions, then continue reading.
Should I Install These Plugins?
Yes, you should. Just because a plugin author didn’t update their readme file doesn’t mean that they have not tested their plugin or that the plugin doesn’t work with the latest version of WordPress.
If you heard about a plugin on WPBeginner, then you can safely assume that we tested the plugin with the latest version of WordPress. If the article, you are looking at was published fairly recently, then this means that the plugin is compatible with the latest version of WordPress.
On the other hand, if a plugin has not been updated for more than two years, then this means that most probably the plugin has been abandoned. In that case, you should not install the plugin.
It would be interesting to note that many plugins that haven’t been updated for more than two years actually still work very well. However, you should install them at your own risk.
How You Can Help?
You can install the plugin on your WordPress site and test it out. If it works as expected, then come back to plugin’s page. Login with your WordPress.org username and password. Next, scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will see the compatibility section.
Simply choose your WordPress version, plugin version, and then click on the Works button. By doing that, you are letting other users know that you have tested the plugin, and it works as promised.
You can also contact the plugin author and kindly ask them to update their plugin’s readme file
What to do When a Plugin is Broken?
Once again, we would like to remind our users that if it is a free plugin, then the plugin author has provided it on as-is basis. There is no warranty, not even the implied warranty of fitness. But the question is, how you can help the community deal with broken plugins?
Instead of leaving a harsh comment on the plugin’s support thread, you can leave a constructive and helpful feedback. See our guide on how to properly ask for WordPress support and get it.
Before doing anything, try installing the plugin on different live or local WordPress install. Make sure you are able to reproduce the same error on other installs as well.
Once you are certain that the plugin is broken, simply describe the error in a support thread and leave it for plugin author or the community to respond. If you do not get a response, then you can try reaching out to the plugin author. Most plugin authors have contact information on their WordPress.org profile pages.
If these steps fail, then you should feel free to visit the plugin’s page and vote the plugin broken under the compatibility section.
We hope this article helped answer your questions about whether or not you should install plugins not tested with your version of WordPress.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Google+.
thank you
First of all thanks for this great eye opening article and clearing all doubts related to installing untested plugins. I have always hesitated installing untested plugins despite its great reviews just because it has not been tested for a particular theme. For example, I abstained from installing Google official Adsense plugin with my existing theme for my travel website for the same reason. Placing ads manually on each post is tedious so I will try it now. But how Google has not updated it’s read me file for Adsense plugin, is out of my understanding.
I was searching for this topic.
recently checked my plugins and half of them not updated from months and some not updated from 2-3+ years.
I don’t know what to do… i preferred to disable those plugins which are not compulsory.
As mentioned in the article above, sometimes plugin author don’t feel the need to update the plugin if there is nothing broken. If a plugin is working fine on your site and it hasn’t been updated for less than 2 years, then you can use it. If its older than 2 years, then you should stop using it and find an alternative plugin.
thank you for answer
Yes. Finally i decided to remove those old plugins. some have not alternative like “currencyr”.
I guess, going for premium plugin is a good option or something else.
Glad you found it helpful. Did you checkout WP Currency Converter?
Thank you for this advice! So far in my minimal WP experience, I have steered clear of plugins that were not compatible with the most current version of my theme because I wouldn’t have a clue of how to fix something if the plugin adversely affected what I previously set up. Having the 2-year rule of thumb helped me decide to use a plugin that has not been updated in 1 year…so far so good (the plugin is the TinyMCE Spellcheck).
Great detail and advice. I have been knocking this around in my head for so long I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the details!
Good advice and thanks for the additional info about plugins not updated for two years.
Makes perfect sense.
Why somebody will install plugin if developer is even not able to update one number in readme file?
It is like purchase service from hosting company where their home page is down
That’s the point you didn’t purchase it. It is available for free with no warranty and very limited support.
I think price is not value, does not matter if its free or paid.
Better will be if people stay focused on quality instead of take something for free, bc. its free only.
I agree with you. Why can’t you test it your own, when it is free and you need it? Developers may not get time to update readme text on each WordPress updates. No point of complaining about it, since they are giving their work for free!!
Because that plugin sometimes is the only one that works for you. And just because it hasn’t been updated, it does not mean in any way that is does not work.
And that is partially due to the awesome WordPress retrocompatibility.
Some people refuse to update the readme because when doing that you also need to do a version number bump, which in turn triggers a release and causes users to need to update.
You can modify the readme without bumping your version number and hence triggering an update, but then you have multiple copies of the same plugin with the same version number which are not identical. Aside from feeling just wrong, that could theoretically trip up a security system which does a hash of the file system and checks with a known set of previously downloaded plugins.