wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “display 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 “display posts”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

VK Post Author Display shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post Views Counter places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1237 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. 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 #3 ↓2 2 too low 2

Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 ↑2 1 too high 3

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #12 5 too low 8

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #2 ↑3 6 too high 9

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #9 10

List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #11 ↑5 12

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #17 ↓6 5 too low 13

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #22 ↓2 5 too low 18 W WP Display Header 7K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #10 8 too high 19

Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) not PHP-current wp.org #15 ↑8 4 too high 20

Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #24 ↓12 4 too low 21

VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓1 14 too high 22

Conditionally display featured image on singular posts and pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24

Bangla Date Display 4K+ · 4.6★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.