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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “feed excerpt”

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 “feed excerpt”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

APG Google Video Sitemap Feed shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.8★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 491 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ · 4.3★ (101) wp.org #1 2 WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #2 3 RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #3 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #4 5 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #10 ↑3 4 too low 7 WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher 10K+ · 4.8★ (514) wp.org #7 8 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too low 10 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11 Houzez Property Feed 1K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 Zen Feed 400+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 A Add Featured Image to RSS Feed 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #8 11 too high 20 Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 APG Google Video Sitemap Feed 500+ · 2.8★ (9) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 too high 24 Feed Embedder for Substack 200+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.