wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “archive 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 “archive posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Archive Page shows at wp.org #6 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 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 #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 913 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

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

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #2 3

Smart Archive Page Remove 6K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #3 4

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Simple Yearly Archive 6K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #13 7 too low 7

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #16 9 too low 8

Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 1 too high 10

Archive Content with Archived Post Status 5K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #9 1 too high 11

Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #14 2 too low 13

JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #12 1 too high 14

Custom Post Type Permalinks 200K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #24 10 too low 15

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #10 5 too high 16

Archive Page 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #6 10 too high 17

Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #22 5 too low 18

Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #17 1 too high 19

Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too low 20

Reorder Posts – Quick Post Type and Page Ordering 10K+ · 3.9★ (28) wp.org #19 1 too high 21

Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer 1K+ · 3.8★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #11 10 too high 22 E Expanding Archives 3K+ · 4.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 too low 23

Archive Title 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #21 2 too high 24

Hide Author Archive 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #15 9 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.