wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “add collapse”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “add collapse”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Accordions – Responsive Accordion & FAQ Plugin for WordPress shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

QuadMenu – Mega Menu places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 270 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Accordion FAQ – Compatible With All Page Builder (Elementor, Gutenberg) 30K+ · 4.6★ (676) wp.org #3 2 too low 2

Lightweight Accordion 10K+ · 5.0★ (60) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

YITH WooCommerce Product Add-Ons 20K+ · 3.7★ (57) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Collapse Magic 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #1 4 too high 6

Nav Menu Collapse 3K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Advanced AJAX Product Filters 50K+ · 4.7★ (387) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8

QuadMenu – Mega Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (270) wp.org #16 8 too low 9

Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10

Button visually impaired 10K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11

Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12

Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #17 5 too low 13

Heroic Table of Contents 5K+ · 4.7★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #8 5 too high 14

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #22 8 too low 15

Easy Accordion Block – Accordion, FAQ & Collapsible Content for the Block Editor 7K+ · 4.4★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16

Bootstrap Shortcodes 4K+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #15 1 too high 17

Text Unfold For Elementor 3K+ · 4.6★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #7 10 too high 18

PPOM – Product Addons & Custom Fields for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (283) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 3 too low 19

Accordions 20K+ · 4.5★ (90) not PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20

Accordions – Responsive Accordion & FAQ Plugin for WordPress 1K+ · 4.6★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑5 11 too high 21

JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too high 22

Better Block Editor (BBE) 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 3 too high 23

Collapsing Categories 4K+ · 4.1★ (57) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓2 24

ACF Admin Flexible Content Collapse 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #18 6 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.