How ranking works
In plain terms: the main parameters we use to order projects in the directory, in search, and in recommendations — as required by Article 27 of the EU Digital Services Act.
Last updated: July 2026
The main ranking signals
Roughly in order of importance.
- 1Relevance to the current view
When you use search, filters, or a category page, we match your query and filters against the project title, tagline, description, tags and maker profile.
- 2Community signal
Upvotes, saves, and click-through behaviour of visitors. Recent activity counts more than older activity.
- 3Freshness
Newly submitted or recently updated projects get a temporary boost so the directory doesn't stagnate.
- 4Listing completeness
Projects with a real screenshot, clear description, working link, and filled-out tags rank higher than empty stubs.
- 5Trust & safety
Projects that received sustained enforcement action (removal, delisting, repeated policy violations) are ranked down or excluded.
- 6Plan tier
Paid tiers (Pro, Pro+) get a modest priority boost in category and search results, and Pro+ projects are eligible for the Featured slots on the home page. This is a soft boost — a well-loved free project can still outrank a paid one.
Pro projects get a small ranking weight added in the default sort of the homepage, category pages, and search. They also appear more often in the Featured row on the home page.
Pro+ projects rank above Pro in the default sort, ship with a higher priority in sitemap.xml, and trigger an IndexNow ping on create or update so engines re-crawl within minutes instead of days.
Both are soft signals. Choosing a specific sort (Newest, Views, Clicks, A–Z) always overrides them with a single, predictable signal.
Paid placements are labelled
Slots that are placed because of a paid plan or a paid feature (for example the Featured carousel or a sponsored slot) are visibly labelled as such. Ranking within a category is otherwise driven by the signals above, not by direct advertising payments.
Personalisation
Signed-in users may see mild personalisation based on the tags of projects they upvoted or opened before. We do not build personality profiles for advertising, we do not use sensitive-category data, and personalisation can be turned off from your account settings.
What ranking does not depend on
- Direct payments outside the published Plans page.
- Political opinions, religion or other special-category personal data.
- Private judgments by the operator about specific makers.
Changing the order
Where possible, the directory offers alternative sort options (Newest, Top upvoted, Trending). Choosing one of these overrides the default ordering with a single, predictable signal.
For decisions that restrict, hide or demote your own listing, use the appeal process.