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

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 widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Multicolumn Category Widget shows at wp.org #4 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ 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

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #1 2 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #2 3 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #3 4 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #7 ↑3 2 too low 6 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) wp.org #6 ↑15 3 too high 10 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #22 ↓3 9 too low 14 Product Category Slider & Grid for WooCommerce – Reno Product Category 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #10 ↓4 4 too high 15 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Multicolumn Category Widget 300+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ · 4.7★ (21) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too high 18 WP Categories Widget 6K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #12 ↓3 6 too high 19 N NS Category Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #20 ↓4 21 Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too high 22 Statify Widget 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 R Recent Category Posts Widget 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 Product Category 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 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.