Google has added two new extension badges to help users find extensions on the Chrome Web Store. They are Featured and Established Publisher badges and can be awarded to any extensions built in accordance with the Chrome Web Store Developer Program Policies.

Extensions for Chrome have been available since 2009, adding features to make Chrome more usable and customized, and while Google has been less than keen on allowing paid-for extensions, free ones remain something the company likes.  

The new badges will be used to identify extensions that Google sees as useful. The Featured and Established Publisher badges are now live on the Chrome Web Store, and add a similar option to Mozilla's "Recommended" badge that users of Firefox can find on the Firefox Add-on Store.

According to the Chrome team, the Featured badge is assigned to extensions that "follow our technical best practices and meet a high standard of user experience and design."

Chrome team members manually evaluate each extension before it receives the badge, paying special attention to how closely the extension follows the Chrome Web Store’s best practices guidelines, including providing an enjoyable and intuitive experience. Extensions that qualify also need to use the latest platform APIs, and "respect the privacy of end-users."  The extension also needs a store listing page that is clear and helpful for users, with quality images and a detailed description.

The Established Publisher badge lives up to its description by being applied to extensions from publishers who have verified their identity and demonstrated compliance with the developer program policies.

The Chrome team says that any extensions built by a developer who follows the Chrome Web Store Developer Program Policies and does not have any unresolved violations will be considered, though for new developers, it will take at least a few months of respecting these conditions to qualify.

If you have an extension you think meets the criteria for getting the Featured badge, the One Stop Support page is trialing an option that allows developers to nominate extensions for the Featured badge.

More Information

Chrome One Stop Support

Documentation On Chrome Badges

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