Implemented Method

Ranking Methodology

Published order, not a live scoring formula

Each configured category ranking is an explicit ordered list. Public pages read the stored published order; they do not calculate positions from universal weights, favorites, traffic, or an expert score.

Authoritative Field

Public position comes from published_order in ascending order

Per-Category Scope

Each published ranking configuration controls one category list

Manual Publication

Editors arrange a draft and explicitly publish the resulting order

No Hidden Formula

Stored context fields do not automatically override published order

Publication Path

Candidate Set

Load tools selected for the category; tag-match fields may help find candidates

Draft Order

Arrange the explicit display_order draft; no fixed weights are applied

Validation

Reject duplicate positions and rewrite a continuous sequence

Public Order

Copy the sequence to published_order and display it ascending

On publish

Publication Cadence

Per category

Ranking Scope

No formula

Automatic Composite Score

Prerequisites

Ranking Eligibility

At generation time, a tool appears in a configured category ranking only when it is explicitly included in that published order and remains in a public lifecycle state. Cached pages and endpoints may continue to show their last generated result until normal Redis or ISR refresh; no exact refresh-time SLA is claimed. There is no universal passing score.

Learn about our tool selection standards

What Can and Cannot Affect Position

The published order is authoritative. Other stored fields provide context or candidate matching unless an editor explicitly changes and publishes the order.

Category Relevance

Tag-match scores can surface candidates, but do not set position in a configured ranking

Source-Based Review

Editorial research uses public sources unless a page explicitly states hands-on testing

Visit Context

ToolWorthy listing visits are visible to admins but have no automatic ranking weight

Learn More

Published category order with documented limits