Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 tree”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Base (formerly BaseLinker) – 300+ marketplaces, 150+ carriers & PIM & OMS & WMS in one shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages places #10 on merit, 4.4★ from 1319 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #1 2 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 Media Library Organizer – Folders, File Manager & Media Categories 20K+ · 4.7★ (150) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Real Category Management: Content Management in Category Folders 2K+ · 4.1★ (17) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 CatFolders – WordPress Media Library Folders & Categories 6K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Download Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too low 8 Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #9 10 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (336) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 Categories Metabox Enhanced 1K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Menubar 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 W WP-dTree 2K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 N NS Category Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too high 17 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 FileBird Document Library 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too high 21 SEO Optimized Images 10K+ · 4.0★ (27) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 Greek Multi Tool 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Base (formerly BaseLinker) – 300+ marketplaces, 150+ carriers & PIM & OMS & WMS in one 5K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Dropshipping XML for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.3★ (11) 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.