wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “delete 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 “delete posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Force Delete Posts shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 7 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 #7 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 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 signals wp.org

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #1 2

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #2 3

WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131) wp.org #3 4

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Bulk Delete 30K+ · 4.3★ (129) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #17 ↑2 10 too low 8

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #13 5 too low 9

WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #9 ↑1 10

Simple Revisions Delete 10K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #11 ↓4 1 too low 11

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12

DX Delete Attached Media 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too low 14

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15

Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18

Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically 300+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↑1 11 too high 19

Force Delete Posts 200+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #6 13 too high 20

WP Frontend Delete Account 4K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21

Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22

Bulk Delete Comments 5K+ · 3.8★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23

Delete Unscaled Images 900+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too high 24

Auto Post Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 12 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.