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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “group types”

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 “group types”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

CPO Content Types shows at wp.org #15 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 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 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #4 5 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Post Types Unlimited 10K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #9 10 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #11 ↑9 1 too low 11 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #21 ↓2 8 too low 14 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 Plugin Groups 1K+ · 4.3★ (31) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 P Private groups 1K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 B BuddyPress Xprofile Custom Field Types 3K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 WP User Groups 600+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Menu Item Types 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 WPBulky – WordPress Bulk Edit Post Types 400+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 CPO Content Types 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 FOXPOST – Packeta Group 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 Easy Post Types and Fields 1K+ · 2.7★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.