wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “feature 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 “feature posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

WP Featured Posts shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 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 #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 1526 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. 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 ↑1 2

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #4 ↑1 5

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #7 8

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #13 ↑5 5 too low 9

List category posts 70K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #12 ↑4 2 too low 11

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #14 ↓2 15

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1238) wp.org #21 6 too low 16

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #11 5 too high 17

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #19 2 too low 18

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19

Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22

Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23

Mark Posts 1K+ · 4.8★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24

WP Featured Posts 300+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #8 16 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.