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← Rankings

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

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 exclude”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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.

P

Ranked above its merit

PE Category Filter shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ 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

Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 1071 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Category Excluder 50K+ · 4.3★ (78) wp.org #1 2 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Product Category Slider & Grid for WooCommerce – Reno Product Category 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #5 ↓3 1 too high 7 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Categories Images 50K+ · 4.5★ (86) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 Exclude Category from Blog 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Category Posts in Custom Menu 2K+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 List categories 5K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too high 15 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 Tabbed Category Product Listing for Woocommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Collapsing Categories 4K+ · 4.1★ (57) wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too high 19 GazChap's WooCommerce Auto Category Product Thumbnails 1K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 WP Categories Widget 6K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 Category Featured Image 400+ · 2.9★ (12) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Hide Category by User Role for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too high 23 P PE Category Filter 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 Amitry Product & Category Slider for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.0★ (2) 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.