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IssueM icon
Slowing down Tested up to 6.8.11 #1 in issue management

IssueM

Create, Organize, and Publish Issues with WordPress

Active installs600+100+ tier
Downloads · 30d230▲ +64.3% vs prev. 30d
Rating4.1/513 reviews
Health score44/100Fair
All-time downloads53.6KSince Jun 2013
Support resolved—No recent threads
RequiresWP 5.6PHP any
Downloads · 7d65▼ -4.4% week over week
Our verdict

Use with caution

IssueM works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 600+ sites, is rated 4.1/5 and was last updated 1 year ago, and scores 44/100 on our health check.

  • Small user base (600+ active installs)
  • No update in over a year
  • Only tested up to WordPress 6.8 (latest is 7.1)

How does it stack up?

Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support

Daily downloads

4914Jul 16Aug 29Oct 13
Yesterday8
Daily average (1y)5
Peak day32Mar 26, 2026
Last 12 months1.8K

Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.

Rankings

Where IssueM stands today

WordPress.org search rankings

Live position in the plugin search, top 100
KeywordPositionCompeting pluginsCategory
issue management >100 5,070 Best issue management plugins →
issue manager >100 2,937 Best issue manager plugins →
magazine management #14 118 Best magazine management plugins →
magazine manager #16 89 Best magazine manager plugins →
news management >100 8,647 Best news management plugins →

Version adoption

Share of active sites per release.

  • 2.987.6%
  • 2.89.5%
  • 2.72.9%

Rating breakdown

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.1 from 13 reviews

  • 5★61.5%
  • 4★15.4%
  • 3★7.7%
  • 2★0.00%
  • 1★15.4%

About IssueM

From the official readme · v2.9.1

Description

“…IssueM is a real standout.” — WPMU

IssueM is one of the cornerstones of the leading WordPress platform for publishers.

IssueM turns WordPress into a powerful publishing platform for digital issues. Popular with alumni magazines, trade magazines, news sites, science journals, and other publishers of periodicals, IssueM brings the proven and familiar issue-based publishing model to the web. There are incredible benefits to the issue-based model of publishing:

  1. Publishers love that IssueM’s issue-based digital publishing slows the pace of posting to better suit their existing workflows;
  2. And, readers love the long-format, less-frantic, well-organized reading experience.

IssueM is packed with features—and is gaining more with every release! Upon installation, IssueM allows publishers to:

  • Create issues
  • Create articles and assign articles to particular issues
  • Publish an issue (and all included articles) at one time
  • Display past issues on an attractive “Past Issues” archive page
  • Display a current-issue article list anywhere on the site using a widget
  • Allow readers to search for content across all issues
  • Select featured articles to be displayed in a rotating article showcase
  • Use WordPress’s scheduling ability to schedule and automate the launch of an issue
  • Present issues with an attractive ready-to-go (yet customizable) issue table of contents page

Some other benefits:
* IssueM works with any WordPress theme.
* IssueM is backed by the dedicated team of developers and publishers at zeen101.
* IssueM is an active project, with new updates and features released regularly.
* IssueM’s developer, zeen101, is committed to providing stellar support.
* IssueM is free.

Issue-based publishing on the web is gaining steam. More and more traditional publishers are learning that using their print version’s issue-based publication schedule on the web—as opposed to a running stream of content—is not only not a step backwards, but it is a welcome change for readers who are often overwhelmed by streams of content. As this publishing model grows in popularity, so does the IssueM ecosystem. Currently, zeen101 offers the following add-ons and companion plugins to turbocharge and complement IssueM.

  • Leaky Paywall, when paired with IssueM, makes charging for issue subscriptions simple. Sell subscriptions to your content using any schedule (weekly, monthly, annually, etc.) and price you like. Set your “leak level” to define how many articles readers are allowed to view without a subscription for any time period you set. For example, you can allow unsubscribed readers to read 3 articles per month before a subscription is required. Leaky Paywall also allows you to set limits by content type as well. Leaky Paywall is a paid plugin.
  • UniPress brings your IssueM issues to iPhone and Android devices as your publication’s very own app. Build a stronger relationship with your readers by providing them with a dedicated app that they can have in their pocket every day. All your issues, articles, posts, and pages flow into the UniPress app framework that zeen101 will brand as your magazine, set up, and submit to the Apple and Android app stores. It couldn’t be easier. UniPress is available now. (The IssueM integration is currently under development and will be available soon.)
  • The Issue-to-PDF add-on allows publishers to convert their digital issues into PDFs with the click of a button.
  • Want to convert your blog posts into issues? The Issue Migration Tool will migrate any post content you choose into article content, so that you can include it into your IssueM issues. Quickly create a special issue or start an issue based magazine or news site.
  • If you need more power in your search box, the Advanced Issue Search add-on allows your readers to comb through your content in a way that isn’t possible with the standard WordPress content search.

Installation

  1. Upload the entire issuem folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder.
  2. Go to the ‘Plugins’ page in the menu and activate the plugin.

Frequently asked questions

What are the minimum requirements for IssueM?

You must have: * WordPress 5.3 or later * PHP 7 or higher

How is IssueM Licensed?

IssueM is GPL.

Changelog

2.9.1

  • Update tested up to version
  • Add sanitization for alt text on featured image shortcodes

2.9.0

  • Update display of pdf line in archives shortcode
  • Update links

2.8.9

  • Remove external dependencies from plugin

2.8.8

  • Code cleanup

2.8.7

  • Fix pagination on IssueM archives
  • Update WP admin menu icon

2.8.6

  • Fix some styles
  • Add attributes to do_issuem_archives_get_terms_args filter
  • Update html on issuem archive issues

Full changelog on WordPress.org →

Screenshots

Berkeley Science Review - Current Issue
Berkeley Science Review - Current Issue
Berkeley Science Review - Older Issue
Berkeley Science Review - Older Issue
Berkeley Science Review - Issue Archive
Berkeley Science Review - Issue Archive
Simmons Field Educator - Current Issue
Simmons Field Educator - Current Issue
Simmons Field Educator - Issue Archive
Simmons Field Educator - Issue Archive
Einstein College of Medicine - Current Issue
Einstein College of Medicine - Current Issue
Einstein College of Medicine - Current Issue with past issue menu (custom programming)
Einstein College of Medicine - Current Issue with past issue menu (custom programming)
Einstein College of Medicine - Issue Archive
Einstein College of Medicine - Issue Archive
Law Practice Today - Current Issue
Law Practice Today - Current Issue

For developers

Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.

Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.

Active installs badge Rating badge Health score badge

Best IssueM alternatives

All issue management plugins →
Alternatives
Rank Plugin Active installs Rating Updated Health
2 Project Management, Bug and Issue Tracking Plugin – Software Issue Manager Project Management, Bug and Issue Tracking Plugin Best issue tracking, bug tracking and project management plugin. Easily manage tasks, stay… by emarket-design 20+ ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 (12) 4 months ago 61

FAQ

IssueM: quick answers

Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.

Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 14, 2026

Is IssueM free?

Yes. IssueM is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.

Is IssueM safe to use in 2026?

IssueM works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 600+ sites, is rated 4.1/5 and was last updated 1 year ago, and scores 44/100 on our health check.

How many websites use IssueM?

IssueM is active on 600+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 53,607 times since it launched in June 2013. It was downloaded 230 times in the last 30 days.

Does IssueM work with WordPress 7.1?

IssueM is officially tested up to WordPress 6.8.11, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.

When was IssueM last updated?

The latest version, 2.9.1, was released on August 28, 2025 (1 year ago).

Who makes IssueM?

IssueM is developed and maintained by ZEEN101.

What are the best alternatives to IssueM?

The most popular alternatives to IssueM are Project Management, Bug and… (20+ installs).

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