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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “create portfolio”

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 “create portfolio”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Portfolio Block – The Ultimate Project & Portfolio Builder shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple Custom Post Order places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 587 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Radius Portfolio – Filterable Grid, Gallery & Slider Portfolio 7K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #3 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #13 ↑3 7 too low 7 Portfolio, Gallery, Product Catalog – Grid KIT Portfolio 6K+ · 4.4★ (300) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Twentig Supercharged Block Editor – Blocks, Patterns, Starter Sites, Portfolio 20K+ · 4.9★ (171) wp.org #18 ↓5 10 too low 9 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #19 ↓2 10 too low 10 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #23 ↑1 13 too low 11 PowerFolio – Portfolio & Image Gallery for Elementor 10K+ · 4.5★ (12) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 GS Portfolio – WordPress Portfolio Plugin with Filterable Portfolio Grid and Portfolio Slider 300+ · 4.4★ (37) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Portfolio Grid – Filterable Gallery, Grid & Slider Showcase 800+ · 4.4★ (33) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Responsive Filterable Portfolio Gallery – Media Grid & Video Portfolio 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 GS Pinterest Portfolio – Pins Grid, Masonry, User Profile, Popup & Board Widgets 1K+ · 4.8★ (47) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Filterable Portfolio 1K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Portfolio X 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 ↑2 1 too high 18 Linguator – AI Auto Translate & Create Multilingual Sites 3K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Genesis Portfolio Pro 5K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Portfolio – Filterable Masonry Portfolio Gallery for Professionals 200+ · 4.1★ (14) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Portfolio Block – The Ultimate Project & Portfolio Builder 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 Portfolio Gallery – Ultimate Portfolio, Filterable Grid & Image Slider 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 HT Portfolio – WordPress Portfolio Plugin for Elementor 300+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↑2 6 too high 24 Portfolio Responsive Gallery 200+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.