Thank a WordPress Plugin and Theme Author Day 2016

Today is normally Thank a Plugin Author Day which motivates users to thank plugin authors but based on discussions from last year’s event, I’ve decided to add theme authors to the mix. The purpose of the day is simple, give thanks and express gratitude to WordPress plugin and theme developers.

There are several ways to celebrate the event, such as visiting the plugin or theme author’s website. The link is usually available via the plugin or theme’s page on WordPress.org. If you’ve discovered a useful plugin, consider giving the author a monetary donation.

Another way to thank plugin and theme authors is to rate and review their work. Ratings and reviews are an easy way to send feedback directly to an author. Make sure to provide actionable feedback instead of one or two-word reviews. A side effect of rating and reviewing plugins and themes, is that it’s one of many ways to contribute back to WordPress.

photo credit: opensourceway – cc

The WordPress theme directory has more than 2k themes while the plugin directory has nearly 47k plugins. That’s a lot of volunteer time, effort, and code donated to the community.

Thank you to anyone who has ever published a WordPress plugin or theme whether it’s on one of the official directories or on GitHub. Without them, users wouldn’t be able to customize WordPress to make it their own.

Category: Plugins, Themes

Tags: giving thanks, holiday

9 responses to “Thank a WordPress Plugin and Theme Author Day 2016”

Tai says:

January 28, 2016 at 2:02 PM

I’m lazy. So I hereby thank every plugin author or theme author on this planet and wish you all great success in 2016!

Create forum topic from comment

Loading…
Keith Davis says:

January 28, 2016 at 2:08 PM

I usually leave a review for a good plugin but like most WordPress users I take the plugin and theme authors for granted.

I thank them all and promise to make a donation this weekend.

Create forum topic from comment

Loading…
Bob Schecter says:

January 29, 2016 at 8:42 AM

No applause – just throw money.

Create forum topic from comment

Loading…
- Keith Davis says:
  
  January 29, 2016 at 8:48 AM
  
  Will do Bob
  
  Create forum topic from comment
  
  Loading…
- Selvam says:
  
  January 31, 2016 at 5:21 AM
  
  Hi Bob
  
  Money does not buy everything. Simply thank them does make sense.
  
  Create forum topic from comment
  
  Loading…
Ron says:

January 31, 2016 at 1:24 PM

Since I use almost all paid plugins I don’t feel the need to thank anyone – I did the thanking with my wallet.

As far as the free plugins I use – most of them are so cluttered with ads and crippled in some way or another – again I feel no desire to thank them. I consider them thanked every time I don’t nuke their crap plugin and endure their advertising.

Everyone makes money from WP in one way or another here.

I’ll just say thank you to my bank account. :)

Create forum topic from comment

Loading…
- CherylK says:
  
  February 1, 2016 at 10:55 AM
  
  Yikes! That is just nasty. I use free plugins and have never had a problem. I try to read everything about the plugin and the reviews before making a choice.
  
  Create forum topic from comment
  
  Loading…
Damian says:

February 1, 2016 at 11:15 AM

To recognise plugin authors’ contribution of writing, testing, releasing and maintaining thousands of lines of code, I make a point of donating $10-$15 if I’ve used a plugin for 6 months or longer. I couldn’t manage the website that promotes my business without them. More recently I’ve started working on the locale translation for my regular plugins. Nothing like some mutual back-scratching to grease the wheels of life.

Create forum topic from comment

Loading…
Luca Fracassi says:

February 2, 2016 at 5:05 AM

Jeff I think you have a typo, there are about 42k plugins, not 47k.

With that said, you can leave it like this, there will be 47k by the end of the summer… :-)

Create forum topic from comment

Loading…