My Dreamy Tags plugin entered WordPress.org review this week — and immediately hit an unexpected hurdle: I had to prove I actually owned my own plugin.
The first flag was simple but surprising. WordPress.org couldn’t verify that the username “lewismoten” belonged to the same person listed in the plugin metadata. My WordPress.org account was associated with Gmail, and WordPress now treats free email providers as insufficient proof of ownership. Their reasoning makes sense: anyone can create a Gmail account, so it doesn’t establish a verifiable link to a domain or brand.
Because my plugin’s Author URI points to lewismoten.com, the fix was clear: I needed a domain-based email address and had to associate it with my WordPress.org account.
(Quick clarification: WordPress.com hosts my website, while WordPress.org manages the plugin directory. Two different systems, two different accounts.)
Finding a Domain Email Solution
WordPress.com offers email hosting with a free trial, followed by an annual fee. That felt steep for an address I’d barely use. I also looked at forwarding services like ImprovMX, ForwardEmail, and SimpleLogin, but their free tiers are limited, especially if you own multiple domains.
Before jumping ahead, I checked what WordPress.com already provided. That’s when I noticed email forwarding.
Setting up the forwarder itself was straightforward: choose a username, select a domain, and specify where messages should be sent (Figure 1). The confusing part was that it required DNS changes and claimed I was using external name servers, which wasn’t true.
I went into my domain’s DNS settings and added a basic MX record (Figure 2) with a short TTL, just to test. After that, I returned to the forwarding setup, confirmed my Gmail address, and within minutes had the new email forwarding to Gmail.
So far, so good.
Detours Through Old Accounts
Next came the identity cleanup.
While updating email addresses, I discovered remnants of old WordPress accounts from over a decade ago. That temporarily blocked my new domain email because it was already associated with a forgotten account.
After some password resets, confirmations, and cleanup, I freed the address, deleted the unused account, and finally updated my active WordPress.org profile to use my domain email. Once that was verified, I replied to the plugin reviewer to let them know ownership had been established.
That was the last step.
In the End
This was solvable — but not obvious.
A simple warning during plugin submission about free email providers would have saved hours. WordPress.org clearly knows Gmail accounts trigger ownership verification, so surfacing that upfront would prevent unnecessary friction.
On the WordPress.com side, email forwarding could be smoother. When creating a forwarder, the system already knows whether MX records exist. Offering to add the required record automatically would eliminate guesswork and reduce setup anxiety.
None of this is catastrophic — but together it creates a confusing first impression for independent developers trying to do things correctly.
Still, I now have domain-based email, verified plugin ownership, and a clearer picture of how WordPress draws boundaries between hosting, identity, and distribution. That’s useful knowledge going forward.
One response to “Papers, Please: Prove You’re the Author”
[…] WordPress settings. I replied that this was my first plugin, that the initial review had flagged an ownership issue I’d already resolved, and that I’d just received another email with a few more items I was actively working […]