Semalt: Why WordPress Plugins Disappear From The Plugin Directory?

About fifty thousand WordPress plugins are available in the WordPress plugin directory, but once in a while some of them disappear, and we don't understand why it is happening. There are some good reasons for why this is happening, but the information is never available publically.

Ross Barber, a leading expert of Semalt, tells that if your plugin has suddenly disappeared and you want to know the reason before starting the investigation, you should check your WordPress dashboard for following possibilities

1. Your site is compromised

Sometimes the WordPress or blogging websites are compromised without your knowledge. The chances are that your data has been stolen and the plugins are not functioning properly in your WordPress. Let me here tell you that WordPress is responsible for performing basic checks on all the installed plugins and can remove the codes injected in your metadata, but if the problem persists, you should immediately consult a WordPress or an IT expert.

2. Check the Editor code for possible thefts

Another reason why your WordPress plugin is not showing up is that you or someone else have changed the Editor code. Sometimes the hackers and spammers take advantage of the execution files and editor codes of your WordPress site and insert their malicious codes in them. The chances are that any of these codes led your plugin to disappear from the plugin directory, but there is nothing to worry about. You just need to go to the Editor section and check if everything is normal. If you see some suspicious codes here, you should remove them as soon as possible.

3. Problems with the PHP file

Just like the Editor section, your PHP file is likely to be edited by some hacker or another administrator. You just need to check the settings of this file and get it edited, if mandatory. Most often, such files are edited by hackers for malicious reasons.

4. Beware of code injection tools

You should never use an automatic code injection tool on your WordPress website. This is because such codes can make some or all plugins disappear from the directory and you can even lose your access to the website. The hackers sometimes perform Distributed Denial of Service attacks and inject several malicious codes to your site using those tools, so we highly recommend you to stay away from those code tools and ensure your site's protection.

5. Wordpress may remove the plugin itself

Sometimes, WordPress removes or uninstall a plugin itself and reason for it is unknown. However, you can check your security settings and contact the seniors to stop WordPress from removing several plugins in future. If your WordPress had periodically warned you about a couple of things and you didn't notice, the chances are that your plugin will be removed from the directory automatically.

6. Update your plugin to prevent it from getting removed

Sometimes the outdated plugins are either updated automatically or removed from the WordPress plugin directory. To prevent this issue, you should regularly update your plugins and keep their standards as high as possible.