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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom position”

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 “custom position”, 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

Custom Price for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ 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

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 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 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 2 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #2 3 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7 Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget) 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (1511) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #5 ↓1 5 too high 11 Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too high 14 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too high 15 Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) wp.org #23 ↓2 7 too low 17 S Smart Custom Fields 50K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #11 ↓2 6 too high 18 White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19 Custom HTML Block Extension 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 Custom Product tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #18 ↓7 2 too high 21 Reading progressbar 6K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 Custom Background Changer 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 Custom Price for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓3 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.