wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “category navigation”
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 navigation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Product Category Showcase for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 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.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #1 2 
No Category Base (WPML) 100K+ · 4.5★ (34)
wp.org #2 3 
Product Category Slider & Grid for WooCommerce – Reno Product Category 9K+ · 4.8★ (91)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #8 ↑2 2 too low 7 
WPB Accordion Menu – Collapsible Vertical Sidebar Responsive Mobile Menu – WooCommerce Category Accordion 10K+ · 4.4★ (54)
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too low 9 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2052)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #18 7 too low 12 
Post Category Filter (WP Admin) 1K+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #9 3 too high 13 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #20 ↓4 7 too low 14 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Blog Filter – Post Grid Filter by Category or Tag 7K+ · 4.9★ (81)
wp.org #22 ↑1 7 too low 16 
YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98)
wp.org #16 ↑1 17 
Automatically Hierarchic Categories in Menu 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 Product Category Showcase for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑1 11 too high 19 
Product Category Slider for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑1 20 
WPB Category Slider for WooCommerce – Responsive Product Category Carousel & Enhanced UX 700+ · 4.1★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 
Endless Posts Navigation 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #15 6 too high 22 
UnoDock – Mobile Bottom Navigation 700+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 P PE Category Filter 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑2 6 too high 24 
Amitry Product & Category Slider for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.