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

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 posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1526 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #3 ↓2 1 too low 3

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too high 9

Custom Post Type Permalinks 200K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too high 10

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #18 ↑3 7 too low 12

Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too high 13

Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #23 ↓3 8 too low 16

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17

ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #20 3 too low 18

Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #15 3 too high 19

MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #12 8 too high 21

Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) heavy footprint wp.org #21 22

Real Custom Post Order: Create a custom order for your content 8K+ · 4.8★ (42) not PHP-current wp.org #17 5 too high 23

Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews 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.