WordPress Plugin Crisis: 59% of Plugins Have Been Abandoned for 2+ Years fuadalazad.com

WordPress powers over 43% of all websites in 2025, according to W3Techs. Plugins are the heart of WordPress. They add features like online stores, contact forms, and security tools. But over 59% of WordPress plugins (more than 34,000) haven’t been updated in over two years.

That’s a huge number! When so many plugins are outdated, it’s a problem. Not being updated means developers are just abandoning those plugins. But why? Is it creating a plugin crisis in the WordPress ecosystem? Is it worsening the future of WordPress for both developers and users?

I will help explore the WordPress plugin abandonment crisis in this case study. I’ll explain why so many plugins are left behind, who makes them, and what risks they bring. Though my audience is developers, website owners, and agencies, they will find this helpful too.