WordPress News “A Year in the Plugins Team – 2025” – EventPrime Team Commentary

The recent post by David Perez, “A Year in the Plugins Team – 2025,” offers a rare and valuable look behind the scenes of how the WordPress plugin ecosystem is evolving at scale. As developers actively maintaining plugins in the directory, we often experience the outcomes of these processes—but not always the operational realities behind them.

From an EventPrime developer’s perspective, several points in this update resonate strongly, both as validation of where the ecosystem is headed and as signals for what plugin authors should prepare for in 2026.

Original post by David Perez, published on Make WordPress Plugins
Source: https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2026/01/07/a-year-in-the-plugins-team-2025/

AI Has Changed the Entry Point — Not the Responsibility

There’s no denying that AI has reshaped how plugins are being built. We’ve seen this first-hand. More developers are experimenting, more ideas are turning into real submissions, and the directory is growing faster than ever.

What stood out to us in this post is the clear message that while AI has lowered the barrier to starting, it hasn’t lowered the bar for publishing. The review standards haven’t softened—and that’s a good thing.

From our perspective, AI is most useful when it handles the repetitive groundwork. What still matters (and will continue to matter) is understanding WordPress itself: data handling, security, performance, and long-term maintainability. The approval numbers reflect that balance well.

Submission Growth Is Real — But So Is the Cost of Silence

The growth in weekly plugin submissions is impressive, especially given that the Plugins Team hasn’t grown at the same pace. Tooling has clearly carried much of that load.

However, the statistic that nearly 40% of reviewed plugins received no response from their authors is telling. Every plugin author who has gone through review knows how valuable reviewer feedback is. Not responding doesn’t just delay approval—it wastes volunteer effort.

From the EventPrime team’s point of view, responsiveness is part of being a good citizen in the WordPress ecosystem. Publishing a plugin is not a fire-and-forget action. It’s a conversation, and that conversation matters more as the ecosystem scales.

Better Tools Mean Clearer Expectations

The improvements to the Internal Scanner may not be visible to most users, but they are deeply felt by plugin developers. Faster, more consistent checks around naming, branding, and ownership reduce uncertainty during reviews.

As developers, this is something we welcome. Predictability makes it easier to do the right thing from the start. When expectations are clear, quality naturally improves—and the data in the post reflects that.

Plugin Check Plugin Has Become Part of Real Development Workflows

The evolution of the Plugin Check Plugin stood out to us as one of the most meaningful developments of 2025.

For our team, PCP has moved from being a pre-submission checklist to something that belongs inside development workflows. The focus on security, licensing, and code quality aligns closely with what long-term plugin maintenance actually looks like.

The move toward automated scans on plugin updates is especially important. It reinforces the idea that security isn’t a one-time concern handled during initial review—it’s ongoing.

Update Scans Are a Wake-Up Call (in a Good Way)

The decision to scan every plugin update marks a shift in how security is treated across the directory. Historically, initial reviews carried the most scrutiny, with updates receiving comparatively less attention unless issues were reported.

As plugins grow more complex and interconnected, that model no longer holds. Automated update scanning acknowledges this reality without placing additional manual burden on volunteers.

For developers, this also changes the mindset around releases. Updates are no longer just feature drops—they are ongoing trust renewals.

Looking Ahead to 2026: Scaling Without Diluting Standards

One theme runs through the entire post: growth with responsibility.

The WordPress plugin ecosystem is expanding rapidly, and AI has accelerated that growth. What’s reassuring is that the Plugins Team is scaling processes without compromising standards. That balance is difficult, and it’s worth acknowledging.

For teams like ours, the takeaway is simple:

• Invest in quality early
• Stay engaged during reviews
• Treat security and updates as ongoing responsibilities

Our Final Thoughts

We appreciate the transparency in David Perez’s update and the work done by the Plugins Team throughout 2025. Much of this effort happens quietly, but it directly shapes the trust users place in the WordPress plugin directory.

As plugin developers, we see this not as friction, but as stewardship of an ecosystem that millions rely on. We’re encouraged by the direction things are heading and look forward to contributing responsibly as the ecosystem continues to grow.

— EventPrime Team
EventPrime @ WordPress.Org