Easy Primary Category
by Gagan Deep Singh · Uncategorized
Also makes 9 other plugins · 65.4K+ installs across the portfolio →
Allows you to choose primary category for posts and custom post types.
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
B 76/100
Few reviews
Active installs
1K+
≈1.9K estimated
Momentum
+33%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “category” isn't earning a slot. You list it, but you're not in the first 24 results for that search. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
76 health vs 58 average across 25,737 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.3%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 42.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,770 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.
This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 263 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.9.11, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ and held back under 25 reviews
2 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
30
Momentum
Losing ground
-1.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
0.0
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| primary your tag | #1 | #4 | 0 |
| primary category | #1 | #4 | 0 |
| category your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
9 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 2 listed. 7 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “category” isn't earning a slot. You list it, but you're not in the first 24 results for that search. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
- Already on top for “primary category”. #1 without listing it. A tag would change little there; your slots are better spent on a search you don't yet win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 313 · 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
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
9mo ago
latest release · v1.1.1 · 10 Feb 2026
3
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% 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 “1K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 20 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 2 Dec 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ shaunbowen7.1y ago
I needed to choose the primary category for some posts I was importing from an older site, as WordPress was choosing the wrong one. This has saved me setting up loads of 301 redirects for the posts!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Exo7.3y ago
Just another thank you here, love it. With a bit of manual coding in PHP I can now determine which category is more suited to a Woo Commerce product instead of the first of many selected.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ unitedonline7.3y ago
Great plugin! Saved me a lot of time while trying to put all my categories in order. Does wonders for SEO and the dreaded duplicate content issue. Works great with WP Version 5.2.2 Thanks for your effort.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ OgdenNews8.3y ago
This seems like something that should just be baked right into WordPress by default, but for some reason it just isn’t. Controlling which category gets used for your permalink is a big deal, but WordPress just doesn’t let you manage it. Why? I’ll never know… The only other plugin I found that could do this was Yoast SEO, but that comes with a TON of extra stuff that we just don’t need/want running on our sites. This was an incredible help and a great find! Thank you so much for making this a dedicated plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
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.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
5 of 8 pass · checked 30 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Allows you to choose primary category for posts and custom post types."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 2 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 398 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 2 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-02-27 900+ → 1K+ up after 78 days in tier
- 2024-12-11 800+ → 900+ up after 12 days in tier
- 2024-11-29 900+ → 800+ down after 4 days in tier
- 2024-11-25 800+ → 900+ up after 261 days in tier
- 2024-03-09 700+ → 800+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2024-03-07 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-06 700+ → 800+ up after 488 days in tier
- 2022-11-04 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
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).
- S Simple Primary Category 100+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Pages with category and tag 50K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
Search & Filter 40K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
Media Library Categories 20K+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag A -
Add Category to Pages 20K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Easy Primary Category into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/easy-primary-category" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Easy Primary Category — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Easy Primary Category: 1K+ active installs, 5.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/easy-primary-category
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