Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “nested 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 “nested posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Most And Least Read Posts Widget shows at wp.org #13 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post Views Counter places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 1237 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 3 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #8 ↑2 4 too low 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #6 7 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 List all posts by Authors, nested Categories and Titles 600+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Reorder Posts – Quick Post Type and Page Ordering 10K+ · 3.9★ (28) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too low 13 WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14 Category Posts in Custom Menu 2K+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too low 17 Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 Most And Least Read Posts Widget 900+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Slash Edit: Admin Shortcuts to Edit Posts and Pages Faster 500+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Posts to PDF – Backend Batch Export 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 N Nested Blog Posts 10+ · 3.0★ (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.