wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ajax posts”

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 “ajax posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Relevanssi Live Ajax Search shows at wp.org #13 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 913 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #3 ↑3 4

FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.9★ (1815) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↓1 5

Ajax Load More – Infinite Scroll, Load More, & Lazy Load 30K+ · 4.8★ (287) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

SearchWP Live Ajax Search 40K+ · 4.7★ (36) wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Advanced AJAX Product Filters 50K+ · 4.7★ (387) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 A AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild 30K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #7 ↓3 1 too high 9

List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #10 1 too low 10

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #9 2 too high 12

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #21 9 too low 13

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #22 9 too low 14

Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box 2K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #16 2 too low 15

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #18 3 too low 16

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #15 1 too high 17

YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 6 too high 19

Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too low 20

Relevanssi Live Ajax Search 7K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #13 7 too high 21

Unlist Posts & Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too high 22

YITH WooCommerce Ajax Search 30K+ · 3.0★ (42) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 5 too high 23

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24

WPC AJAX Search for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.