wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multisite 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 “multisite posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Ultimate Multisite – WordPress Multisite SaaS & WaaS Platform shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 1526 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #1 2

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #3 4

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too high 6

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #10 ↑13 4 too low 7

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

Multisite Language Switcher 3K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓2 4 too high 11

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #22 ↓2 6 too low 17

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #24 7 too low 18

WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19

WP Multisite User Sync/Unsync 600+ · 4.2★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too high 20

WP Multisite Content Copier/Updater 700+ · 4.3★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too high 21

User Posts Limit 3K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22

Ultimate Multisite – WordPress Multisite SaaS & WaaS Platform 90+ · 5.0★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23

Weaver Show Posts 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24

Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 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.