wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “include content”
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 “include content”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 60 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #5 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
RPS Include Content 700+ · 4.9★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #3 4 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #9 ↑2 4 too low 6 
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575)
wp.org #10 ↓3 4 too low 7 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 
Include Me 4K+ · 4.8★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #4 5 too high 10 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #14 ↑3 4 too low 11 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 
Include Mastodon Feed 800+ · 5.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↑3 6 too high 13 
SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓1 14 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #18 4 too low 15 
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 
Export media with selected content (by DKZR) 40K+ · 4.5★ (93)
wp.org #16 17 
Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↓2 10 too high 19 
Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221)
wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑7 3 too high 21 
Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 
RSS Includes Pages 10K+ · 3.9★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 
Include Klaviyo for Elementor pro 2K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 I Include Matomo Tracking, by Jonas Hellmann 500+ · 5.0★ (4) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 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.