One of the greatest aspects of WordPress is its vast array of plugins. With over 21,000 plugins available in the WordPress plugins repository, users have the ability to extend WordPress to accomplish nearly any task imaginable. Recently, I (Syed) have been contemplating a post that outlines my vision for a more engaging and user-friendly WordPress plugins directory. In this post, I will address some of the significant user experience challenges and discuss potential solutions for improvement.
The Search
Search is one of the features that has been lacking on the WordPress platform. As a result, many users resort to using custom Google search on their WordPress sites. The plugin directory itself has a note at the bottom suggesting users to try their search on Google. However, this may not be sufficient, especially since many people add plugins using their WordPress dashboard, which utilizes the same search as the main site.
To illustrate this point, let’s search for “SEO” in the plugin directory. By default, the results are sorted by relevance. Below is a screenshot of the top three plugins by relevance:
When I saw the results, I was taken aback. I may have been a bit biased, but I was confident that WordPress SEO by Yoast or All in One SEO pack would be at the top. However, Yoast SEO plugin was only ranked #3 and all in one SEO pack didn’t even make it to the first page.
To clarify, these are two of the most popular SEO plugins with 12 million and 2 million downloads respectively, yet they weren’t at the top. The two plugins that did make it to the top didn’t have as high ratings as Yoast’s SEO plugin. It doesn’t seem to make sense. Some may argue that the most popular plugins shouldn’t always be at the top to give new developers a chance. While that is true, during our small Gainesville WordPress Meetup, Ryan Frankel (@Ryanfrankel) proposed an interesting solution. He suggested creating a search algorithm that incorporates various community variables.
These variables can be broken down into:
1. Number of downloads – While this may give older plugins a slight advantage, it can be kept as a low impact variable.
2. User Endorsement – Since only logged in users can add favorites, give star ratings, and vote if a plugin is working or not, a reputation system should be implemented. This system would take into account the user’s activity and engagement on the platform, as well as the quality of their reviews and ratings.
3. Author’s Reputation – Well-known and credible authors should have a better reputation. For instance, Andrew Nacin contributes a lot to the core and is highly knowledgeable. He should have a higher author reputation than someone who just started developing. Criteria for determining author reputation should be established.
By incorporating these criteria, the relevance of plugin search results can be significantly improved. Let’s delve deeper into the reputation system mentioned above.
Reputation System
The lack of a reputation system in WordPress forums has been a long-standing issue. Other sites like StackExchange and Quora have already implemented such a system, and it’s high time that WordPress.org follows suit. With a reputation system in place, users can vote for the best answer, and the user who receives upvotes will gain points towards their reputation. Additionally, users can ask questions to a specific user for a set price, similar to Quora. While this may give older, more active users an advantage over newcomers, it’s important to remember that proving one’s worth takes time and effort.
By utilizing the reputation system, we can improve the relevance of plugin search results. If a user with a higher reputation favors a particular plugin, it carries more weight. For instance, if Otto likes a plugin, it’s safe to assume that it’s a good one. The same principle can be applied to star ratings.
Refining Plugin Author Reputation
Plugin authors will be treated like every other user, but they will have a separate reputation for their plugins. This reputation will take into account factors such as whether the author provides support for their plugin and how many high-quality plugins they have created. For example, if Mark Jaquith is involved in a particular plugin, it may be ranked higher than others due to his reputation as an industry leader.
The aim is not to discourage new plugin authors, but rather to recognize and appreciate the work of good plugin authors. This will encourage new authors to build a positive reputation in the community by providing support for their plugins. As a result, we can expect to see more involvement from WordPress-based businesses in the forums.
Holding individuals accountable
Currently, it appears that users can simply report a plugin as broken or give it a low rating without providing any helpful feedback to the author. Although users are directed to the support forums page when reporting a broken plugin, they can still choose not to provide any details about the issue. This results in a broken rating that remains on the plugin’s page without any explanation. To address this issue, a validation process should be implemented to ensure that users have made a support forum query before their broken vote is counted. Without providing an explanation of how the plugin is broken, users are not truly helping anyone.
The same issue applies to star ratings. These ratings should be displayed on each user’s profile, and there should be an option to add a review that explains why the user gave a particular rating. This kind of accountability would benefit the larger community by providing more detailed feedback and helping authors improve their plugins.
Commercial Plugins
The WordPress themes repository features a section for commercial themes, but there is no equivalent for plugins. This is unfair, as high-quality plugins such as Gravity Forms, VaultPress, and BackupBuddy deserve recognition. Unfortunately, the current plugins directory fails to highlight these valuable resources. At the very least, there should be a page dedicated to showcasing commercial plugin shops, similar to the page for theme shops.
In the future, it would be beneficial to include commercial plugins in the repository, much like the iOS or Android marketplaces. While this idea presents its own set of challenges, it is worth considering.