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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content planning”

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 planning”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 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

Content Forge – AI & non-AI content generator, scheduled AI posts, dummy data for your site shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 60+ 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

WP Recipe Maker places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 356 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #1 ↑3 2 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #2 3 Nelio Content – Editorial Calendar & Social Media Auto-Posting 3K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #3 ↓2 4 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Simple Local Avatars 100K+ · 4.6★ (89) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #17 ↓3 7 too low 11 Metricool – Social media and site statistics 90K+ · 4.4★ (22) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14 StoryChief 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Opace AI Scribe: SEO Content Creator & Humanizer for OpenAI, Anthropic & Gemini 100+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Timeline Module for Divi 3K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #22 ↑1 5 too low 18 Content Forge – AI & non-AI content generator, scheduled AI posts, dummy data for your site 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 TemplateSpare – 1000+ WordPress Starter Templates & Full Site Migration Tool | 1-Click Import/Export & No-Code Builder 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too high 20 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 Slickplan Importer 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 WP Taxonomy Manager 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 SmartyPress AI Engine — Free AI Engine for Content Generation 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 WPNakama – Editorial Workflow & Content Planning for WP 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.