wp-plugin-directory-guidelines/references/naming-rules.md

Plugin Naming Rules (Guideline 17 + Plugin Check Namer)

Sources: Plugin Header Requirements · Detailed Plugin Guidelines §17 · Plugin Check Plugin_Header_Fields_Check, Trademarks_Check, and AI Namer prompts.

Technical Name Requirements

Rule	Details	Error Code
Must not use placeholder names	"Plugin Name" or "My Basics Plugin" are rejected	plugin_header_invalid_plugin_name
Minimum 5 alphanumeric characters	Name must contain at least 5 latin letters (a–Z) or digits	plugin_header_unsupported_plugin_name (new plugins only)
Name must exist in readme	=== Plugin Name === header required and must be valid	invalid_plugin_name / empty_plugin_name
Name must match across files	Readme and plugin header name must match (case/entity-decoded)	mismatched_plugin_name (warning)

Slug rules: lowercase, hyphens only, max 50 characters, derived from display name.

Naming Quality Rules (AI Namer)

1. No generic names Names must be specific enough to distinguish the plugin from ~60,000 others. - Rejected: "Shipping", "Ecommerce Tracker", "SEO Plugin" - Accepted: "ShipGlex Shipping", "Shipping Tracker for UPS" - Exception: invented/original terms are allowed if placed at the beginning of the name

2. Name must relate to plugin function The display name must correlate with what the plugin actually does. Exception: original invented terms.

3. No keyword stuffing Unnaturally repeating keywords in the name for SEO purposes is not allowed.

4. No names too similar to existing plugins Checked against the WordPress.org Plugin Directory. If similar, suggest a distinctive term (author name, brand, or crafted term) at the beginning.

5. Trademark/project name usage rules Trademarks and project names are allowed only after connectors like for, with, using, or and: - ✅ "My Plugin for WooCommerce" — trademark after "for", no affiliation implied - ✅ "Pricing Rates for WooCommerce" — OK - ❌ "WooCommerce Pricing Rates" — starts with trademark, implies affiliation - ❌ "Nicedev Paypal for WooCommerce" — PayPal is not after a no-affiliation structure; correct form: "Nicedev Payment Gateway with PayPal for WooCommerce" - ❌ "PricingPress" — portmanteau using -Press (WordPress trademark) - Check for portmanteaus: names blending a trademark (e.g., -Press, Woo-) are not allowed

6. Banned and discouraged terms

Banned/discouraged terms cannot appear anywhere in the name — not even after for/with.

Banned Terms (hard block)

Term	Reason
Facebook, FB, fbook, Whatsapp, WA, Instagram, Insta, Gram, INS, Threads, Oculus	Meta legal request: no use in name, slug, or banners
WordPress, wordpess, wpress	WordPress trademark; redundant in the WP.org directory
WP (as standalone/redundant, e.g., "for WP")	Same as WordPress — redundant in context
Trustpilot	Direct request from trademark holder
Binance Pay	Direct request from trademark holder

Discouraged Terms (must be removed)

Term	Reason
plugin (when redundant, e.g., "SEO Plugin")	Redundant; forbidden as first word
best, #1, First, Perfect, The most	Superlatives / unverifiable comparative claims
free (when redundant, e.g., "(free)")	All directory plugins are free — redundant
WP, W P (at beginning or end, referring to WordPress)	WordPress abbreviation — redundant
Gutenberg, gberg, guten, berg	Creates confusion; block editor is the current name

Trademark Slug List (static check — Trademarks_Check)

The following slugs are statically blocked. Terms ending in - cannot begin a slug; terms without - cannot appear anywhere in the slug. woocommerce (no dash) is allowed only as for-woocommerce, with-woocommerce, using-woocommerce, or and-woocommerce.

adobe-, adsense-, advanced-custom-fields-, adwords-, akismet-,
all-in-one-wp-migration, amazon-, android-, apple-, applenews-, applepay-,
aws-, azon-, bbpress-, bing-, booking-com, bootstrap-, buddypress-,
chatgpt-, chat-gpt-, cloudflare-, contact-form-7-, cpanel-, disqus-, divi-,
dropbox-, easy-digital-downloads-, elementor-, envato-,
fbook, facebook, fb-, fb-messenger, fedex-, feedburner, firefox-,
fontawesome-, font-awesome-, ganalytics-, gberg, github-, givewp-, google-,
googlebot-, googles-, gravity-form-, gravity-forms-, gravityforms-, gtmetrix-,
gutenberg, guten-, hubspot-, ig-, insta-, instagram, internet-explorer-,
ios-, jetpack-, macintosh-, macos-, mailchimp-, microsoft-,
ninja-forms-, oculus, onlyfans-, only-fans-, opera-, paddle-, paypal-,
pinterest-, plugin, skype-, stripe-, tiktok-, tik-tok-, trustpilot,
twitch-, twitter-, tweet, ups-, usps-, vvhatsapp, vvcommerce, vva-, vvoo,
wa-, webpush-vn, wh4tsapps, whatsapp, whats-app, watson, windows-,
wocommerce, woocom-, woocommerce, woocomerce, woo-commerce, woo-, wo-,
wordpress, wordpess, wpress, wp, wc, wp-mail-smtp-, yandex-, yahoo-,
yoast, youtube-, you-tube-

Portmanteaus also blocked: any slug starting with woo (case-insensitive) — e.g., woopress, wooland.

Naming Examples

Plugin Name	Verdict	Reason
Shipping	❌	Too generic
Ecommerce Tracker	❌	Too generic, no context
Shipping Tracker for UPS	✅	Descriptive + context
ShipGlex Shipping	✅	Invented term at beginning
WooCommerce Pricing Rates	❌	Starts with trademark
Pricing Rates for WooCommerce	✅	Trademark after "for"
PricingPress	❌	-Press portmanteau
PRT Text editor for WP	❌	WP is banned/redundant; correct: PRT Text editor
Nicedev Paypal for WooCommerce	❌	PayPal not after no-affiliation structure
Nicedev Payment Gateway with PayPal for WooCommerce	✅	Correct structure
Best SEO Plugin for WordPress	❌	Superlative + banned terms
My Free Slider	❌	"free" is redundant/discouraged

Naming Review Checklist (pre-submission)

• [ ] Name is not a placeholder (Plugin Name, My Basics Plugin)
• [ ] Name has at least 5 alphanumeric characters
• [ ] Name matches between plugin header and readme
• [ ] Name is specific — not too generic for 60,000+ plugins
• [ ] Name relates to what the plugin actually does
• [ ] No keyword stuffing
• [ ] No banned terms anywhere (Meta brands, WordPress/WP redundant, Trustpilot, Binance Pay)
• [ ] No discouraged terms (Plugin, Best/#1, Free, Gutenberg, standalone WP)
• [ ] Trademarks/project names only appear after for/with/using/and
• [ ] No portmanteaus using WordPress or WooCommerce trademarks
• [ ] Slug is lowercase, hyphens only, max 50 chars, no blocked terms