wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “most viewed 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 “most viewed posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Recently Viewed Products for WooCommerce – Carousel, Widget, Block & Email shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1720 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #1 2

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (1511) wp.org #9 ↓3 4 too low 6

Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint wp.org #6 ↓2 7

AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #7 8

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #12 ↑5 4 too low 9

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #20 ↓2 11 too low 10

WP-PostViews 90K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint wp.org #18 ↓2 7 too low 12

Wicked Folders – Folder Organizer for Pages, Posts, and Custom Post Types 20K+ · 4.9★ (56) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13

Statify 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #22 ↓10 9 too low 14

Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓6 3 too low 15

Toplytics 80+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓4 4 too high 16

Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓7 5 too low 17

Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓2 7 too high 18

Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #13 5 too high 19

ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 4 too low 20

Recently Viewed Products for WooCommerce – Carousel, Widget, Block & Email 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓2 16 too high 21

Carousel Horizontal Posts Content Slider 2K+ · 4.1★ (76) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22

Customer who viewed this item also viewed using Woocommerce 50+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓3 14 too high 23

Remoji – Post/Comment Reaction and Enhancement 300+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24

Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓6 9 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.