WordPress Upgrades & Plugin Incompatibility

Basically, I’ve only been actively using WordPress for the past few days after installing it on my Hostgator site, and the version I have is the latest: 2.8.6.

I’ve been using a .pdf tutorial that’s supposed to guide me into creating a successful blog site, but I’m finding that the recommended plugins — about 50% of them — are only compatible with earlier versions of WordPress.

One plugin this tutorial stressed as an absolute must is Headspace2 SEO…but the plugin section of WordPress maintains that this plugin is only compatible for versions up to 2.8.1.

I checked out alternate Meta-tag optimizers, and thought that Greg’s High Performance SEO Plugin would make an excellent substitute…but it is only recommended for WordPress versions up to 2.8.1 as well.

I’ve searched this Forum to see if there have been similar posts lamenting the failure of plugins to keep up with WordPress advances, and I was quite amazed to see that even recent posts — such as one by user ‘waynesmallman’ just five months ago seeking some help with a Socilaize Me! plugin, referred to himself as only having WordPress 2.7.X.

And we’re now already up to 2.8.6 in just five months?

No one responded to his three posts for help, incidentally.

I guess what I do not understand is why WordPress updates itself in such a way that it renders plugins as incompatible? I have yet to locate a highly-rated SEO optimizer plugin that is supposed to be compatible with my version of WordPress. So why keep listing them? Or are people refusing to upgrade their versions of WordPress? My searching of the Forum yielded comments that doing so was taking a big risk insofar as possible vulnerabilty is concerned.

I’m bewildered. So many plugins…yet so many of them verging on obsolescence — at least, as far as the latest WordPress version seems to be indicating. I’m not sure what to do. WordPress doesn’t seem to be slowing down in its version updates; but the plugins are falling farther and farther behind in meeting the suitability criteria to match up with the new versions.