When I first read last week that WordPress had launched an official plugins directory I was excited. There are lots of good plugins out there that are not in any sort of searchable database other than a search engine. However, the WordPress plugin directory isn’t living up to my excitations yet.
The directory holds less than 150 plugins out of the thousands out there. What is there seems to be organized well and has a nice star rating scale, installation information, screenshots, a FAQ and even download stats for the plugin.
I then tried to add the FB StandardStats plugin and that’s where my excitement died.
Signing up for an account and submitting the basic plugin info was easy. A couple hours later I got notification that a SVN area was setup for my plugin and the URL took me to a page with no GUI, no instructions and no clues as to what to do next. A quick email back to support and they said it was easy, just get a SVN client and they sent me here.
Confused yet again, and not sure how to install the plugins they recommend, I went out and got a SVN stand alone application. That didn’t work as I had no idea the connection settings. So I ended up installing TortoiseSVN as they suggested and it worked.
I’ve got the plugin uploaded and ready to go, I think. But I have no idea what to do next or how to get it into the WordPress official directory. The whole ordeal isn’t user friendly and I can see how quickly it’d deter plugin authors from uploading their plugins. That is unless I’m the only one who doesn’t get the whole SVN thing.
I think the official WordPress plugin directory is a great idea, but I think it’s confusing and annoying to get a plugin listed. I’d recommend wp-plugins.net for a large database of WordPress plugins that is extremely easy to get included in.
What are your thoughts on the official WordPress plugin directory?
