Justin Tadlock 9:37 pm on July 27, 2015

Theme Directory: Tags/Filters

One of TRT’s new goals is focusing on improving the theme directory in a way that’s beneficial for users and theme authors. There’s going to be a bit of overlap between the directory and the review queue, but our primary focus here is on improvements to the directory itself.

Because directory improvements are such a big undertaking, I thought I’d break things down into a few different posts. Today’s focus is going to be on the tags/filterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. system. Improving this would be an easy and major win for all.

Based on the survey results, people tend to use the tag filter feature the most often to find themes in the directory.

But, as we all know and what seems to be evident from the survey, tags need some major work. So, let’s make them better!

Color tags

The first order of business is probably dropping the “Colors” tags. These don’t seem to be used much.

Based on the survey and an earlier discussion, it’s probably time to let go of these.

Subject tags

This is probably the biggest point we need to focus on. No one is using these tags to find themes, but I believe it’s because our subject tags leave a lot to be desired. Currently, we have three tags:

Photoblogging
Holiday
Seasonal

There’s a lot of room for improvement there. I’d love to put together a solid list of subject tags. Take a look at what other theme directories outside of .ORG are doing. What can we learn?

Other tags/filters

Now is the time to offer up any ideas on tags/filters. I’ve only posted what I think is relevant from the survey about tags. If you have other ideas, let’s hear them.

Other improvements

I’m the point person on directory improvements. So, feel free to get in touch on SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. (@greenshady) about other things you want me to bring up for discussion.

Tammie 9:49 pm on July 27, 2015

Awesome to see this starting to happen. I’m excited about us making the directory really useful for people.
kevinhaig 10:44 pm on July 27, 2015

I agree on the colors. I don’t think Fluid Layout is required anymore, as themes seem to be fixed width or responsive. I also wonder if translation-ready is required as it is now in all themes. If I put on a user hat, I think some of the Feature items are hard to figure out. Flexible HeaderHeader The header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes., Featured ImageFeatured image A featured image is the main image used on your blog archive page and is pulled when the post or page is shared on social media. The image can be used to display in widget areas on your site or in a summary list of posts. header, Threaded Comments, are a few examples. I wonder how much they are being used?

Under Subject, I think Magazine Style, Corporate (or Business), Blog Focus would be good theme styles to add.
- Justin Tadlock 12:03 am on July 28, 2015
  There’s actually a bit of variety with layouts:
  - Fixed
  - Fluid
  - Fixed + Responsive
  - Fluid + Responsive
  Fixed does not necessarily mean non-responsive. I wonder if the average theme user understands the differences though. I started to bring this up in my post because, based on the survey, I’m assuming most users are looking for a “responsive” layout, even when they search for a “fluid” layout. Fluid layouts aren’t necessarily responsive layouts but they can be. Fixed/Fluid are pretty old terms that I don’t really think apply as much these days.
  
  I imagine it’s all a bit confusing and think we could make these tags a bit clearer for the layperson.
  - MRWweb 12:24 am on July 28, 2015
    
    I agree that most users probably won’t get that. That said, as I reference in my comment below, it’s at least worth considering the “child themer” user group’s needs. Maybe there needs to be a “Technical Details” or “Advanced” section that would include things like Fluid, WP APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways., Microformats, and others we haven’t thought of yet.
MRWweb 10:55 pm on July 27, 2015

Some unrelated thoughts.

1) I wonder if “Grid” is a new layout tag worth adding. I doubt it would apply to every template of a theme, but it’s definitely a frequent “look” to sites (home pages, blog pages, etc.) that people look for. “Single Page” might be another “faux-layout” tag worth adding.

2) As a themer who is sometimes a user looking for well-built, easily-modifiable themes, I often find myself using some of the more obscure features as proxies for “detail-oriented” and “follows standards,” particularly AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) Ready, Editor Style, and Translation Read.

3) I wonder if renaming “Subject” to “Niche” would be more useful. I feel like that’s the most common name for what I *think* the directory is going for.
- kevinhaig 10:59 pm on July 27, 2015
  
  +1 for “Grid”
Sakin Shrestha 2:57 am on July 28, 2015

Thanks Justin.

It will be nice if we add more subject tags like:
Blog, Magazine, Corporate, E-commerce, Photography, Portfolio
- Nisha 4:50 am on July 28, 2015
  
  +1 for “new tags” Blog, Magazine…
Torsten Landsiedel 8:06 am on July 28, 2015

There is a really long list for theme subjects on wordpress.comWordPress.com An online implementation of WordPress code that lets you immediately access a new WordPress environment to publish your content. WordPress.com is a private company owned by Automattic that hosts the largest multisite in the world. This is arguably the best place to start blogging if you have never touched WordPress before. https://wordpress.com/ (just click on “Find a theme”:
https://theme.wordpress.com/

Feature tags should have some infobox (e.g. the question mark on the wordpress.com page) to explain the tags.

And I would like to add a “no child themes” option.
NateWr 10:24 am on July 28, 2015

I threw together a quick Google doc with 4 spreadsheets that list search filters. They include Subjects/Niches/Categories, Features, Compatible With and Styles spreadsheet data for four large theme markets: WordPress.comWordPress.com An online implementation of WordPress code that lets you immediately access a new WordPress environment to publish your content. WordPress.com is a private company owned by Automattic that hosts the largest multisite in the world. This is arguably the best place to start blogging if you have never touched WordPress before. https://wordpress.com/, ThemeForest, MojoThemes, TemplateMonster.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GpJK6pMqVXXrKe66NMFjxyY9nwsHmuhm7IDrb6BtMjM/edit?usp=sharing

If anyone from the TRT wants editing access just let me know via Twitter @NateWr.

It might be worth reaching out to see if these marketplaces have and are willing to share data on which filters are most commonly used. WordPress.com is the only one that would probably be willing to share, but it’s worth a shot.

I am particularly interested in whether ThemeForest’s “Compatible With” filters are commonly used. As I set out in a previous comment, I think the .org theme repository has loads of unique potential in its ability to link themes to plugins in the pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party repository, and vice-versa. That comment is here:

https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2015/05/29/proposal-curated-theme-directory/#comment-41851
- Justin Tadlock 5:17 pm on July 28, 2015
  
  Nice list! That’s a great starting point.
- Jose Castaneda 9:55 pm on July 28, 2015
  
  Great list!
Carolina Nymark 12:45 pm on July 28, 2015
Are we set on sticking with ‘tags’? Are we set on sticking with ‘reviewable’ tags? During the brainstorming, one suggestion was to let theme authors add any ‘keywords’ they want.
- Users love simplicity, do we need a list of checkboxes like today? I suggest keeping the number down in that case, or include them in an advanced search option.
- I’m hoping for an improvement regarding the search.
- Omaar Osmaan 3:23 pm on July 28, 2015
  
  +1. There should be a ‘FilterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output.’ list for features (limited, reviewable) and ‘Tags’ which authors are free to enter for theme keywords.
- Justin Tadlock 5:15 pm on July 28, 2015
  
  I think a set of standard tags is preferred. If not, we’ll end up with the mess in the plugin repo. I feel like we have a far superior filterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. system for themes because of the limitations.
  - Omaar Osmaan 3:42 pm on July 29, 2015
    
    I agree about the ‘standard tags’, which I’ve refereed as ‘FilterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output.’- a taxonomyTaxonomy A taxonomy is a way to group things together. In WordPress, some common taxonomies are category, link, tag, or post format. https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies#Default_Taxonomies. for features (the existing tags system) that really helps to find themes with desired features. (Let’s call it ‘categoryCategory The 'category' taxonomy lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are pre-defined and broad ranging.’ of features, it should be limited and curated by admins)
    
    On addition to that, I think it’ll be great to have a author provided keywords per theme- which allows them to indicate the topic/niche and other ‘keywords’ as they see fit for the theme. (Let’s call it ‘tags’, authors are free to add any words for the tags).
    
    That two taxonomy system would be really helpful- one helps with finding desired features, another helps to define subjects, niche or whatever.
    
    The search system could also allows to combine both category and tags to refine searches. For example, I want a theme with ‘custom-headerHeader The header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes.’ and ‘custom-background’ features for ‘travel’ or ‘magazine’ niche themes.
    
    The best part is that, there wont be needing much coding for this to implement- isn’t it? 🙂
    
    I think it would be awesome way to explore themes repo, really.
chriscct7 7:30 am on July 29, 2015

Personally I think the color tags could be useful, its just the way they are on the directory right now makes them useless. Let’s say I have a charity whose logo color is a particular shade of red and I want a theme that matches it. So right now I go to the theme directory and I pick red. That doesn’t help because there are so many shades of red the odds are I won’t find a color that matches mine.

Here’s how it could be made way better. Instead of the color tags being attached to a theme by a person use one of this source libraries that feed the auto generated theme thumbnail into it and get a calculated color profile with the top 3 colors and their percents. Then you could implement a colorpicker on the theme directory page, perhaps via a select a color (or two) and then radix search through the themes listing themes with the highest percentage of the exact same shade followed by ones of a few shades.

Now if I wanted to find a theme that matches my logo color I just pick the color from the colorpicker and boom, the perfect shaded (and relevant) themes first. No more searching through 10,000 shades of red.
Ulrich 8:43 pm on July 31, 2015

I would like to request we remove “blavatar”.

We also have the “buddypress” tag. It would be great if we could allow themes to add the pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party slug as a tag to show that the theme supports that plugin e.g “easy-digital-downloads”
satchipanda 10:11 am on June 1, 2018

I know most of the theme has a capability of being “responsive”, but I thought it’d be helpful to have a “responsive” tag for filtering.

Or are there any ways to do so already?

Welcome to the Themes team!

Handbooks and review requirements

Coding standards and plugins

Code Packages

Communication

Theme Directory: Tags/Filters

Color tags

Subject tags

Other tags/filters

Other improvements

Welcome to the Themes team!

Handbooks and review requirements

Coding standards and plugins

Code Packages

Communication

Color tags

Subject tags

Other tags/filters

Other improvements

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