Like most mainstream browsers, Edge has its extensions store, where customers can download various add-ons to expand the browser's feature set. According to Microsoft, Edge Add-ons Store is approaching 11,000 extensions, which means Microsoft needs to figure out how to improve discoverability as the marketplace grows. Extension badging is one way to do that.
In a recently published community post, the software giant announced an upcoming experiment aiming to flag high-quality extensions with badges. Markers should also encourage developers to build their projects with the best practices in mind and deliver great user experiences for the end customers.
Microsoft is not ready for a global badge rollout, and the company wants to conduct a small-scale experiment first. It also plans to engage with the developer community to sort out criteria that entitle a particular extension for a badge and help developers get acquainted with the badging process.
In case you missed it, Google launched a similar program in its Chrome Web Store several months ago (Firefox also has had one since 2020). The extension marketplace now provides a checkmark (no need to pay $8/mo for this one) for verified developers and a "featured" tag for add-ons that follow recommended practices for Chrome extensions.
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