wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “medium articles/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 “medium articles/posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Display Post Feed from Medium shows at wp.org #2 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #7 5 too low 3

MWW Scheduled Post Trigger 60K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #3 4

Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #4 5

Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher 10K+ · 4.8★ (514) wp.org #15 9 too low 7

Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #5 2 too high 8

WPS Bidouille 9K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #11 3 too low 9

Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #21 12 too low 10

Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113) wp.org #16 6 too low 11

WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #24 13 too low 12

EU Withdrawal and Legal Guarantee Compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #12 13

NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) wp.org #20 6 too low 15

BotWriter – AI Writer & SEO Content Generator 1K+ · 4.4★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #9 6 too high 16

Posts per Cat 200+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #17 18

Display Post Feed from Medium 100+ · 2.3★ (3) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #2 16 too high 19

BuddyPilot Withdrawal – Easy Returns for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #13 6 too high 20

iZooto – Web Push Notifications 900+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #23 2 too low 22

WPYog News 60+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Display Medium Stories 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #14 9 too high 24

PurePen AI – AI Content Generator with Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini & More 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 5 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.