wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “list custom 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 “list custom posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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

Custom Related Posts shows at wp.org #17 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 46 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Duplicate Post places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too high 4

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8

Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #6 2 too high 9

Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too high 13

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #14 1 too low 14

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #13 1 too high 15

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #19 ↑5 4 too low 16

Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17

W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #16 2 too high 19

ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20

Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22

Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) heavy footprint wp.org #20 2 too high 23

MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.