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

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 view”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Addonify – Quick View For WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 418 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Grid/List View for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (50) wp.org #1 2 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #5 ↑9 2 too low 4 CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365) wp.org #8 ↓5 4 too low 5 L List View Google Calendar 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #6 7 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 YITH WooCommerce Quick View 80K+ · 3.8★ (27) wp.org #4 ↑1 7 too high 12 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ · 4.7★ (21) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14 Contact List – Online Staff Directory & Address Book 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15 CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 L List all URLs 4K+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Dashboard To-Do List 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 Page View Count 10K+ · 4.0★ (55) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Add post thumbnail to wp-admin list view 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Addonify – Quick View For WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 Animate In View 1K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 Media Metadata List 100+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #23 24 QODE Quick View for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.