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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “faqs list”

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 “faqs list”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Happy FAQs – FAQ, Product FAQ & Help Center shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 23 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate FAQ Accordion Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (439) wp.org #1 2 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 VS Event List 8K+ · 4.9★ (82) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Quick and Easy FAQs 10K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Easy Accordion – AI-Powered FAQ & Accordion Blocks, Product FAQ 70K+ · 4.9★ (358) wp.org #10 ↓4 2 too low 9 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #14 ↑6 5 too low 10 Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #11 12 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #17 ↓7 4 too low 14 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Stylish Price List – Price Table Builder & QR Code Restaurant Menu 3K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17 Helpie FAQ — Accordion, Docs & Knowledge Base 8K+ · 4.5★ (80) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 Plugins List 700+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too high 19 12 Step Meeting List 900+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 Contact List – Online Staff Directory & Address Book 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Happy FAQs – FAQ, Product FAQ & Help Center 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too high 22 Joli FAQ SEO – WordPress FAQ Plugin 600+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Stock Quotes List 500+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Advanced FAQ Manager 2K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 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.