Free plugins are found mostly through WordPress.org; paid ones through a marketplace, a page builder's store or the maker's own site. This is what each route asks for, using the limits and review times the platforms publish.
Submit to the WordPress.org directory
Upload a complete, working plugin as a .zip under 10 MB from a WordPress.org account. Volunteers review it by hand. The submission page says review takes 1 to 10 days and aims for 5 business days, while the Developer FAQ says a small, correct plugin should be approved within fourteen days of initial review. Plan for the longer figure: reviews can't be prioritised, you can generally have only one plugin in review at a time, and a review still open after three months is rejected. The most common rejections are unescaped output, unsanitized input and missing nonces.
- Run Plugin Check first: it covers most checks used on new submissions, but it doesn't replace the manual review.
- The URL slug comes from the Plugin Name header and can't change after approval, so don't start it with another company's brand.
- Questions go to plugins@wordpress.org; the FAQ says it replies within 7 business days.
Sources: Add your plugin (WordPress.org) · Plugin Developer FAQ · Plugin Check (WordPress.org)
Readme, images and live preview
WordPress.org builds your plugin page from readme.txt and an assets folder. The short description is cut off after 150 characters, and you can use up to five tags. A readme over 10 KB may cause errors, so keep the current release's changelog in it and move older entries to changelog.txt. A Stable tag of trunk is no longer allowed for new plugins. To offer a try-before-you-install button, commit a blueprint file and set the preview to public: it opens your plugin in WordPress Playground, beside the Download button.
- Banner: banner-772x250 in jpg or png, plus an optional banner-1544x500 for retina screens (it can't be used alone); 4 MB maximum.
- Icon: icon-128x128 and icon-256x256 in png, jpg or gif, or icon.svg with a PNG fallback; 1 MB maximum.
- Screenshots: lowercase screenshot-1.png, screenshot-2.png and so on, 10 MB maximum each, with one numbered caption per image in the readme.
- Images live in a top-level assets folder in SVN, not trunk. They are cached, and a change can take hours to show.
Sources: Plugin Readmes (Plugin Handbook) · How Your Plugin Assets Work (Plugin Handbook) · Previews and Blueprints (Plugin Handbook)
Paid versions, forums and each release
Free and paid can coexist, but what you host on WordPress.org must work fully. The guidelines ban functionality locked behind payment or an upgrade and suggest selling extras as a separate add-on hosted elsewhere. External services are allowed if they do real work and the readme documents them. Outside connections need opt-in consent, upgrade notices must stay limited and dismissible, and affiliate links must be disclosed and direct. You can't compensate or pressure people for reviews, and the support forums are not a venue to promote your own products.
- Since 5 June 2026 each release waits in a cooldown, currently 6 hours, for an automated security review by several AI models and Jetpack Scan.
- A high-risk release is blocked from the update API and committers are emailed; the plugin stays listed. A fixed new release is usually faster than an appeal.
Sources: Detailed Plugin Guidelines (Plugin Handbook) · Support forum guidelines (WordPress.org) · Automated security review for plugin releases (Make Plugins)
Getting featured and found
WordPress.org announced a Featured Plugins experiment on 8 March 2026: eight plugins chosen every two weeks, to surface newer plugins with limited visibility. To be in the pool you need fewer than 10,000 active installs, a listing 12 months old or less, no open security vulnerabilities, compatibility with the current major WordPress release and an update in the last six months. No submission is needed, but you can add context in the #featuredplugins channel on Make WordPress Slack. The process is still being reassessed, so don't plan around it.
- Selection looks at readable, escaped and sanitized code, an accurate readme, a problem not already well served, and responsiveness in the support forums.
- On ranking, the FAQ's advice is a good readme for the language, prompt support replies and good reviews.
- A new plugin can take 6 to 14 days after its first SVN commit to show up in search.
Sources: Announcing the Featured Plugins Experiment (Make Core) · Plugin Developer FAQ
Premium marketplaces and builder stores
The Woo Marketplace takes extensions from approved partner accounts. Products must share revenue with Woo and avoid affiliate links or links that upsell outside the Marketplace. The docs say a formal decision comes within 30 days once a submission reaches business review. Requirements include PHP 7.4 or higher, support for the two latest WooCommerce and WordPress releases, and HPOS compatibility. WordPress.com says that, as of 23 May 2025, it is not accepting new Marketplace partnership submissions, and it points vendors to the WooCommerce Vendor Signup. Envato's Author Hub still says author applications are closed, with some content types due to reopen from late February 2026.
- On Woo, a product with free and paid versions needs two separate submissions, which are later merged into one product page.
- Submissions must pass automated tests (QIT, covering security, malware, activation and more) before they enter the review queue.
Sources: Submitting your product to the Woo Marketplace · Submitting a product to WordPress.com · Why get started with Envato (Envato Author Hub)
News, newsletters and podcasts
Three outlets publish a route for product news. The WP Minute's contact form has a Press release / News item topic, and its footer lists paid launch marketing separately. Gutenberg Times wants news on block editor plugins, block-based themes and training, and asks you not to send content marketing pitches. Post Status's contact form offers Something I think you should cover as a topic. Keep a pitch to what changed, who it helps, and a link to the readme and a demo.
- The WP Minute lists a weekly newsletter and two podcasts in its footer; Post Status sends a newsletter every Friday.
- Gutenberg Times says its focus includes WordPress Playground, WordPress Studio and updates from the WordPress AI team.
Sources: Contact (The WP Minute) · Contact us (Gutenberg Times) · Contact Post Status
Facts checked Oct 9, 2026 against the sources linked in each section.