wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content ordering”
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 “content ordering”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
FoodBook Lite – Online Food Ordering System shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 300+ 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
Post Views Counter places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1238 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Simple Page Ordering 100K+ · 4.7★ (131)
wp.org #1 2 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #2 ↑3 3 
Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107)
wp.org #6 3 too low 4 
Reorder Posts – Quick Post Type and Page Ordering 10K+ · 3.9★ (28)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1238)
wp.org #14 8 too low 7 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #13 6 too low 8 
RestroPress – Online Food Ordering System 1K+ · 4.4★ (102)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 too high 10 
Orderable – Restaurant & Food Ordering System 5K+ · 4.6★ (40)
wp.org #8 2 too high 11 
Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162)
wp.org #11 12 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2052)
wp.org #19 ↑4 7 too low 13 
Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #9 4 too high 14 
Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96)
wp.org #18 4 too low 15 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510)
wp.org #21 ↓7 6 too low 16 
Restaurant Menu – Food Ordering System – Table Reservation 7K+ · 4.4★ (54)
wp.org #15 1 too high 17 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938)
wp.org #20 3 too low 18 
BlockSpare – Gutenberg Blocks, AI Content Generator & Site Builder for news, magazine, blog and business sites 10K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #17 ↑2 1 too high 19 
Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97)
wp.org #24 ↓8 5 too low 20 
Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72)
wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 
s2Member – Excellent for All Kinds of Memberships, Content Restriction Paywalls & Member Access Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.1★ (234)
wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 
Internal Linking of Related Contents 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #12 10 too high 23 FoodBook Lite – Online Food Ordering System 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↓1 18 too high 24 
RestroFood Lite – Online Food Ordering and Restaurant Management Plugin For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
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.