Top Cat
Top Cat allows you to specify a main category for your posts. Even though WordPress posts can have more than one category, you may want to specify which of them is the main category for each post. Top Cat lets you do…
Consider an alternative
Top Cat shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 21 years ago, and scores 31/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 21 years
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Top Cat stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| category | >100 |
| main | >100 |
| primary | >100 |
| single | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Top Cat
From the official readme · v1.0.2Description
Top Cat allows you to specify a main category for your posts. Even though WordPress posts can have more than one category, you may want to specify which of them is the main category for each post. Top Cat lets you do this and also provides template tags for displaying the main category.
Using style sheets, you can then apply different styling to posts based on their main category, even if they belong to the same set of categories. For an example, see my home page at http://www.thunderguy.com/bennett/
Installation
- Copy topcat.php into your WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins).
- Log in to WordPress Admin. Go to the Plugins page and click Activate for Top Cat.
- Note that the administration functions should work on most modern browsers. I will add universal support soon.
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Top Cat alternatives
All category plugins →
FAQ
Top Cat: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 17, 2026
Is Top Cat free?
Yes. Top Cat is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Top Cat safe to use in 2026?
Top Cat shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 21 years ago, and scores 31/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Top Cat?
Top Cat is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 3,342 times since it launched in May 2005. It was downloaded 34 times in the last 30 days.
When was Top Cat last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.2, was released on May 27, 2005 (21 years ago).
Who makes Top Cat?
Top Cat is developed and maintained by bennettmcelwee.
What are the best alternatives to Top Cat?
The most popular alternatives to Top Cat are Pages with category and tag (50K+ installs), Search & Filter (50K+ installs) and PublishPress Taxonomies (40K+ installs).
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