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← Rankings

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

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 description”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Category Description for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #1 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #4 ↑2 3 too low 2 A Allow HTML in Category Descriptions 8K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #2 3 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 No Category Base (WPML) 100K+ · 4.5★ (34) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #8 ↑3 3 too low 6 Product Category Slider & Grid for WooCommerce – Reno Product Category 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #6 ↓2 7 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #12 ↓4 4 too low 9 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too low 11 Category Description for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 10 too high 12 VS Meta Description 3K+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Categories Images 50K+ · 4.5★ (86) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Category Posts in Custom Menu 2K+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 List categories 5K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Bulk Edit Categories and Tags – Create Thousands Quickly on the Editor 3K+ · 4.5★ (26) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 Tabbed Category Product Listing for Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too low 18 P Post Order By Category 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 P Product Categories/Tags Bottom Description for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 Product Category Showcase for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Multicolumn Category Widget 300+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 RDV Category Image 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 23 Product Category 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 TP Product Description in Loop for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.