wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “open multiple 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 “open multiple posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 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

MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 700K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 71 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 #5 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #1 2

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #11 6 too low 6

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #6 7

We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #9 10

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #12 2 too low 11

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #8 3 too high 12

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #18 6 too low 13

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #15 2 too low 14

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #21 7 too low 15

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #16 1 too low 16

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #19 3 too low 17

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #22 5 too low 18

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #14 4 too high 19

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #17 3 too high 21

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #20 1 too high 22

MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 12 too high 23

Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #23 24

Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #24

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.