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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “page tree”

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 “page tree”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 5 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

F4 Post Tree shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Download Manager places #11 on merit, 4.1★ from 1006 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin Menu Tree Page View 10K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126) wp.org #3 4 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #4 5 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too high 9 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 Wicked Folders – Folder Organizer for Pages, Posts, and Custom Post Types 20K+ · 4.9★ (56) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Post/Page Specific Custom Code 6K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Genealogical Tree – Family Tree & Ancestry for WordPress 600+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #6 ↑1 8 too high 15 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16 F4 Post Tree 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 ↑1 11 too high 17 PDF & Print by BestWebSoft – WordPress Posts and Pages PDF Generator Plugin 9K+ · 3.9★ (102) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 Menubar 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Auto Submenu 2K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑2 11 too high 21 Tree-Nation for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.8★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓2 10 too high 22 Auto Refresh Post & Page 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 E20 Page Tree 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Comfortable Admin Page 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.