wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “list plugin”

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 plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

List categories shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5

Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too low 6

Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too high 8

Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #4 4 too high 9

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #12 ↑4 3 too low 10

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #11 ↑6 1 too low 11

VS Event List 8K+ · 4.9★ (82) wp.org #10 ↓7 1 too high 12

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #13 ↑9 1 too low 13

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #16 ↓5 3 too low 14

W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #14 15

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16

List categories 5K+ · 4.5★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #9 7 too high 17

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #17 ↓5 18

Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19

Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 20

List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ · 4.7★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #18 2 too high 21

Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 2 too low 22

Plugins List 700+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #15 7 too high 23

Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24

Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles 4K+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓7 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.