How we test WordPress plugins
Every plugin on WPGlory is installed on a clean WordPress site before we write about it. Here is exactly what we do, what we measure and what we don’t claim.
Our test site
- WordPress 7.1.3 (the current release when we tested), PHP 8.3 (WebAssembly build)
- Kadence theme (free), default content
- One plugin active at a time, free version from WordPress.org
- Tests run in WordPress Playground, so every plugin starts from the same clean site
What we measure
| Measurement | How | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Front-end weight | CSS and JS files the plugin adds to a page that doesn’t use it, logged out | Every visitor downloads it |
| PHP memory | Peak memory to load WordPress, before vs after | Cheap hosting runs out of memory |
| Database | Tables and autoloaded options added | Tables usually stay after you uninstall |
| Admin impact | Menus, dashboard widgets, admin-bar items and notices added | Clutter and upsell nags |
| SEO output | Schema types, Open Graph and meta tags on a post (SEO plugins only) | What you get with zero setup |
| Directory data | Version, active installs, rating, last update from WordPress.org | Is it maintained and trusted? |
How we score
The WPGlory test score (out of 10) rates what a plugin costs your site, not how many features it has. Features are covered in each review’s text.
| Part | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Front-end weight | 30% | 10 minus 1 point per 25 KB of CSS/JS added to a page that doesn’t use the plugin |
| Server cost | 20% | 10 minus 0.35 per MB of extra PHP memory and 0.1 per database table |
| Admin clutter | 20% | 10 minus 2 per upsell notice, 1 per setup reminder, 1.5 for a setup redirect or forced sign-up, 0.75 per dashboard widget, 0.5 per admin-bar item |
| Trust | 20% | WordPress.org rating out of 10, pulled toward 8.0 when a plugin has few reviews |
| Maintenance | 10% | 10 if tested with the current WordPress, 8 if one version behind, 5 if older; minus 3 if not updated for 6 months |
What we don’t do
- We don’t quote Playground timings as real-server speed. We only compare them with each other.
- We don’t publish star ratings we didn’t earn. Ratings shown are WordPress.org’s, with the review count.
- We don’t change a score because a plugin pays a commission.
How we make money
Some links are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate links go through wpglory.com/go/ so you can always see where they lead, and they are marked as sponsored for search engines.