Categories in Hierarchical Order
by Amit Sonkhiya · Uncategorized
Also makes 3 other plugins · 3.8K+ installs across the portfolio →
Categories in Hierarchical Order plugin maintains the hierarchical order of categories list in the Category tab under your WordPress Admin Post Editor …
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 50/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
2K+
≈2.6K estimated
Momentum
+18%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: “category”, “custom taxonomy” and “hierarchy” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Install conversion
How it's measured →5.9%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 33.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,778 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 5+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.6.23, well behind 7.1.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 2154 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.6.23; the current branch is 7.1
5.0★ over 14 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.3★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2154 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| custom taxonomy your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| hierarchy your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| order your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| taxonomy your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “category”, “custom taxonomy” and “hierarchy” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 621 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
5.9y ago
latest release · v1.3.1 · 10 Dec 2020
5
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 93% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “2K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 23 months ago; the previous band took 5.2 years to cross, which places it about 63% of the way through.
Install history since 21 Mar 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ fabricio1214.6y ago
Faz 1 ano que esse plugin não recebeu uma atualização, e o plugin pode ficar vulnerável. Não abandone este plugin , pois ele é ótimo e ajuda em muito. obrogado por ele!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ studioram7.0y ago
Excactly waht I needed! Unfortuanally WordPress still order categeries alphabatical. This plugin orders them hierarchical. Easy in use!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Joshaw7.3y ago
Does the trick perfectly, thanks! 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sharonvillines7.7y ago
Don’t understand why this plug-in doesn’t have more reviews. It’s one of the first I install. I have sites with a subject category and then a subject-date category. this allows me to keep the dates with the categories without naming them with both the category and the date. Otherwise, I would see 1978 chosen but not be able to check that I had chosen photos>1978 or notes>1978. Repeating the category name with every date would add twice the number of terms in far too many places.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Andrew Schultz8.3y ago
Why is this not part of the WordPress core yet? This plugin fixed my ugly looking category structure! Thanks guys!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ swinggraphics8.9y ago
Perfect
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ lorenzck9.2y ago
Does exactly what should be the default option in WordPress, great! Sorely needed if you have many categories (possibly with very similar names) and rely on a complex hierarchy.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ drexmeister9.4y ago
Hi there, Thanks for the plugin, this should be default behaviour. It’s on of the most asked questions by my clients. Thanks for coding and sharing.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.3.1 Security improvement by blocking direct file access 1.3.1
- — Version 1.3 GitHub and support links updated Tested up to WordPress version 5.6 with Classic Editor 1.3
- — Version 1.2 Changed the Class constructor for compatibility to PHP 7 1.2
- — Version 1.1 Tested to support latest WordPress version 1.1
- — Version 1.0 Maintain category hierarchical order 1.0
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
3 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Gutenberg.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 976 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("custom taxonomy", "hierarchy", "taxonomy" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-11-30 3K+ → 2K+ down after 1913 days in tier
- 2019-09-05 1K+ → 3K+ up after 894 days in tier
- 2017-03-25 900+ → 1K+ up after 338 days in tier
- 2016-04-21 600+ → 900+ up after 195 days in tier
- 2015-10-09 400+ → 600+ up after 135 days in tier
- 2015-05-27 300+ → 400+ up
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
- T Taxonomy Checklist Tree 400+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
-
Search & Filter 40K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
Term Management Tools 10K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags B -
Gravity Forms + Custom Post Types 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Taxonomy Images 8K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Categories in Hierarchical Order into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/categories-in-hierarchical-order" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Categories in Hierarchical Order — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Categories in Hierarchical Order: 2K+ active installs, 5.0★ (14 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/categories-in-hierarchical-order
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