wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “displaying 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 “displaying posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Unlist Posts & Pages shows at wp.org #5 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 1511 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

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #1 2

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #2 3

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #4 5

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #11 5 too low 7

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (1511) wp.org #18 8 too low 11

Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #6 5 too high 12

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #20 8 too low 13

Unlist Posts & Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #5 8 too high 14

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #21 7 too low 15

CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #15 16

Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #17 1 too low 17

Chronological Posts 1K+ · 4.9★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #13 4 too high 18

Ocean Posts Slider 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #10 8 too high 19

Republish Old Posts 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #14 5 too high 20

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #23 3 too low 21

Auto Post Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #16 5 too high 22

Insert Blocks Before or After Posts Content 1K+ · 4.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #24 2 too low 23

GS Posts Grid – Recent Posts, Category Posts, Post Filter, Slider & List 100+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24 R Recent Category Posts Widget 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #19 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.