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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “category”

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 “category”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

No Category Parents shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 6K+ 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

PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 195 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 wp.org
1 No Category Base (WPML) 100K+ · 4.5★ (34) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Remove Category URL – Remove ‘category’ base from category permalinks 40K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Ultimate Category Excluder 50K+ · 4.3★ (78) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Product Category Slider & Grid for WooCommerce – Reno Product Category 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #4 ↓3 2 too high 7 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #7 8 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #8 9 Bulk remove posts from category 10K+ · 4.6★ (100) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 Pages with category and tag 50K+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Category Posts in Custom Menu 2K+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13 A Allow HTML in Category Descriptions 8K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 WP Media Category Management 6K+ · 4.7★ (35) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too high 16 Post Category Filter (WP Admin) 1K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Real Category Management: Content Management in Category Folders 2K+ · 4.1★ (17) wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too high 18 WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 P Post Order By Category 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 No Category Parents 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Product Category Showcase for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 ↑2 7 too high 22 Exclude Category from Blog 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Category Archives Block 900+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 Category Description for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 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.