WP Required Taxonomies – Categories and Tags Mandatory
by Jose Vega · eCommerce
Also makes 20 other plugins · 26.7K+ installs across the portfolio →
Force users to select a taxonomy term when publishing posts. For example, make category or tags required
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
A 86/100
Few reviews
Active installs
1K+
≈1.9K estimated
Momentum
+33%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “categories”, “tags” and “woocommerce” 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.
86 health vs 71 average across 9,767 eCommerce plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.5%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 39.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median eCommerce plugin keeps 1.4%, across 5,154 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other eCommerce plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 71 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.1★ over 8 reviews, smoothed to 4.10★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 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.
41
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
+0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
25%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.2
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| required your tag | #1 | #3 | 0 |
| mandatory | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| taxonomies your tag | #9 | #21 | down 3 |
| all taxonomies | #8 | #21 | 0 |
| custom taxonomies | #23 | #24 | down 4 |
| taxonomy tags | #23 | #24 | up 1 |
| categories your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| tags your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| woocommerce your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
13 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 6 listed. 7 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “categories”, “tags” and “woocommerce” 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.
- Already on top for “mandatory”. #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 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 3.3K · 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
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
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
2.0y ago
latest release · v1.2.1 · 25 Oct 2024
13
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 78% 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 5.5 years 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 21 Oct 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ instadesign1.7y ago
I had been trying to solve this exact issue with some custom snippets of PHP and JS but running into issues… I then searched and found this plugin, and found it worked perfectly for my use case and within minutes I was able to move on. I’ve used it to force WooCommerce shop managers to select terms from custom taxonomies I’ve created before they can publish a product. Lovely job. 👏
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ germario2.8y ago
In itself it’s a cool tool making sure that users on the backend select categories. The plugin is causing a bug, where to update or to publish a post type that is being checked by the plugin needs to be initiated twice. So the blue “update” button, for example, needs to be clicked twice for it to work. I am using it for custom post types too. The developers contact forms on their website aren’t working unfortunately. This topic was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by germario.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Rickey6.2y ago
I like this plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Marie-Aude6.5y ago
Simple to use, all free, does exactly what is needed
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ truca7.4y ago
Straight forward, quick and easy. So far no problems.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dkenny7.4y ago
Does exactly what we needed for client
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ctrlaltdelete8.0y ago
If you use custom taxonomies there’s a high chance you also use custom post types. Forcing people to buy this to be able to use it on custom post types is indecent. I hope you go bankrupt. Seriously. This don’t belong in WP repository.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jose Vega8.6y ago
Great for making categories required , so users can´t publish without selecting a category.
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 2 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (1.2.1). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2023-07-18 CVE-2023-33999 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.1.7 Patched in 1.1.8
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
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
4 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 "Force users to select a taxonomy term when publishing posts. For example, make category or tags required"
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("use cases"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce, Gutenberg.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 2 lists.
- ! Enough to quote 918 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2021-05-16 700+ → 1K+ up after 240 days in tier
- 2020-09-18 300+ → 700+ 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).
-
Media Library Assistant 70K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A - P Post Tags and Categories for Pages 20K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags B
- V Visual Term Description Editor 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags C
-
Essential Widgets 10K+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags B -
Hide Categories and Products for Woocommerce 10K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
Google for WooCommerce 800K+ installs · 2.8★ · 1 shared tag C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP Required Taxonomies – Categories and Tags Mandatory into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/required-taxonomies" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP Required Taxonomies – Categories and Tags Mandatory — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP Required Taxonomies – Categories and Tags Mandatory: 1K+ active installs, 4.1★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/required-taxonomies
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