You have probably seen abandoned plugins in the official WordPress plugin directory and it’s a pity that these plugins are homeless without anyone who manages and continue the development and maintenance of them.
It is understandable that many developers don’t have the time or the opportunity to continue to update their free plugins. It requires a lot of time and dedication. But the question is what you can do if you might be interested in taking over an existing plugin? How do you proceed?
For some time now, there is a way to actually adopt a WordPress plugins if the creator of a plugin put his plugin up for adoption with the “Adopt-Me” tag in WordPress plugin directory. That way everybody know the plugin can be taken over. A great example is Matt Cromwell who created a successful WordPress plugin adoption that you can read about in an article on WP Tavern.
If you would like to contribute to the WP community by adopting a plugin, you can do that by checking out all the abandoned plugins via the Adopt-Me tag. Maybe there is a plugin that you can see the potential and development opportunities in. Why not take the opportunity to take over, fork and make this plugin into something great?
Some of the abandoned plugins that you can find via the Adopt-Me tag and are available for further development right now are:
Bootstrap Admin
Bootstrap Admin is a plugin that re-style your WordPress admin area, offering a cleaner experience. This is a clean, minimalistic administration theme implementing Twitter’s Bootstrap. The author hoping someone wants to give this plugin a new home and continue with the development of the plugin. » More Details
Nomad World Map
With the Nomad World Map plugin you can create your own custom travel map and share your travel plans. Features included are possible to create multiple independent maps. A sidebar widget that can show your last location. Show a list of visited locations. Custom thumbnails for each location plus much more. The author says – Unfortunately I no longer have time to actively maintain and provide support for this plugin. » More Details
WP Ajax Edit Comments
With the WP Ajax Edit Comments plugin allow users to edit comments for a limited time. Great if you wrote or mistyped your comment an want to edit your comments. The authors looking for a new contributor, because all the current contributors no longer have the time to maintain this project. » More Details
There are more abandoned WordPress plugins that’s waiting for someone to find a new home for them. Perhaps you have ideas about how any of these plugins can evolve, developed and re-released! Is this something you are passionate about, so just check out these plugins tagged with the Adopt-Me tag, right here.
Contact the authors and ask them if you can take over their WordPress plugins. If they agree, the plugin authors can add new developers as contributors and let you take over the plug for maybe a better future!
What is your opinion of these abandoned plugins? Do they deserve a second chance or should they be removed from the directory?