wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “excerpts”

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 “excerpts”, 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

Simply Excerpts shows at wp.org #2 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 565 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

1 A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ · 4.3★ (101) wp.org #1 2

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6

We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #8 ↑6 2 too low 7

Postie 10K+ · 4.7★ (139) not PHP-current wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8

GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9

List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #15 6 too low 10

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #19 ↓2 9 too low 11

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12

Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160) wp.org #14 ↓6 2 too low 13

AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 R Recent Comments Widget with Comment Excerpts 100+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #4 10 too high 15 S Simply Excerpts 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #2 13 too high 16

Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94) wp.org #22 ↑2 5 too low 18

Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too high 19

WPC Smart Quick View for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.9★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 1 too high 22

AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #18 4 too high 23

Mandatory Excerpts for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓3 11 too high 24

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.