I am writing this blog post because in recent days I had the opportunity to post a reply to a review left on plugin that I felt was unacceptable and completely unreasonable.
For the most part, the plugins in the WordPress repository are free. Developers take time out of their own busy personal and professional lives to develop plugins not only to help themselves but to help others. And I appreciate that so much because I’ve created two plugins and needed the help of three other developers to learn how to create them. So, when I saw that review, I guess it hit a nerve.
Backstory
The rating system goes from 1-Star to 5-Stars. Someone posted a 1-Star rating with a horrible title and a very harsh message, which really was uncalled for. Why? Because 1) they failed to read the documentation, 2) failed to read the Readme.txt file, and 3) failed to post whatever issue they were having on the plugin Support tab. Now, this was posted on a plugin that had (31) 5-Star ratings. This was the only 1-Star gawd awful rating on the plugin.
How should you rate a plugin?
I cannot say how “everyone” should rate a plugin, but I personally think a 1-Star rating would be on a plugin that is absolutely broken, doesn’t work, has been hacked, etc., etc. A 2-Star rating could be used for something like a 1-Star rating but has some function of working. A 3-Star rating would be a plugin that works, but has a few kinks in it, has potential to do better. A 4-Star rating would be it’s a good plugin, it works as expected, but maybe had one or two issues, or if the free version doesn’t offer as much as the plugin’s Pro version (i.e., could have a few more bells & whistles). And lastly, a 5-Star rating is a great working plugin, nothing is broken, works as expected, works the way the developer has noted before downloading, has great documentation, etc.
My Point
Most plugin developers would love for users to rate their plugins. If you choose to do that, please be reasonable in how you select your Star rating and be courteous when writing your reasons for giving that rating.
The repo plugins are free. Please be kind to the developers who spend their time to help YOU add functionality to YOUR websites. If you have an issue, post a question on their Support tab or send them an email. Give them the opportunity to provide you with an answer. Maybe if you do that before leaving a rating, your rating will be much higher based on their response back to you.
Have a great day, where ever you are in this world.
