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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “blog shortcode”

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 “blog shortcode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

Blog Floating Button shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Blog Filter – Post Grid Filter by Category or Tag 7K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #1 2 Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News 30K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 4 Simple Blog Stats 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Print My Blog – Print, PDF, & eBook Converter WordPress Plugin 8K+ · 4.8★ (115) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 B Blog-in-Blog 800+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Arconix Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Simple Blog Card 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 Easy Bootstrap Shortcode 6K+ · 4.0★ (50) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Blogmentor – Blog Layouts for Elementor 4K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 MachForm Shortcode 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Blog Floating Button 8K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 17 too high 22 Profile Box Shortcode And Widget 1K+ · 3.7★ (7) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme 80K+ · 2.1★ (7) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Classic Blog Grid 3K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #9 15 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.