wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “inline related”

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 “inline related”, we agree with wp.org 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

MrSeokar Inline Related Products for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

YARPP – Yet Another Related Posts Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 1165 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #8 2 too low 7

SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

YARPP – Yet Another Related Posts Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (1165) wp.org #18 10 too low 9

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 3 too low 10

Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 3 too low 11

Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #21 ↑1 10 too low 12

Insert Headers And Footers 200K+ · 5.0★ (135) wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13

Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #19 6 too low 14

Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 2 too low 15

Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16

Inline Tweet Sharer – Twitter Sharing Plugin 300+ · 5.0★ (11) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 5 too high 17

Internal Linking of Related Contents 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #6 11 too high 18

Modern Footnotes 6K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19

MrSeokar Inline Related Products for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #5 14 too high 20

Inline Context – Footnotes, Tooltips & Glossary Notes 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #9 11 too high 21

VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too high 22

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.