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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “latest 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 “latest posts”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Latest Posts Block – Dynamic Posts Grid, Posts List, Posts Tile with Stunning Layouts for WordPress Blogs & Pages shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 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 wp.org
1 Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too low 2 Latest Post Shortcode 4K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Latest Posts 4K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #4 5 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #11 ↑6 4 too low 8 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 Related Posts Thumbnails 20K+ · 4.9★ (234) wp.org #13 ↑3 1 too high 15 Ocean Posts Slider 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 too high 16 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17 Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) wp.org #17 18 Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Mark Posts 1K+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Weaver Show Posts 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #23 ↓3 24 Latest Posts Block – Dynamic Posts Grid, Posts List, Posts Tile with Stunning Layouts for WordPress Blogs & Pages 6K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓2 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.