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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “portfolio sorting”

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 “portfolio sorting”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Portfolio Block – The Ultimate Project & Portfolio Builder shows at wp.org #3 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 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 #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #1 2 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Filterable Portfolio 1K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Responsive Filterable Portfolio Gallery – Media Grid & Video Portfolio 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #8 9 Ultimate Responsive Image Slider 30K+ · 4.5★ (248) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Dynific Addons for Elementor (formerly Anywhere Elementor) 70K+ · 4.8★ (104) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Vimeography: Vimeo Video Gallery WordPress Plugin 5K+ · 4.5★ (122) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Advanced Query Loop 6K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #14 15 Filter Gallery 3K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Media Library Organizer – Folders, File Manager & Media Categories 20K+ · 4.7★ (150) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Xpro Addons — 150+ Widgets for Elementor 40K+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Portfolio by BestWebSoft – Work and Projects Presentation Plugin for WordPress 600+ · 3.5★ (26) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Vimeotheque – Vimeo WordPress Plugin & Video Gallery 2K+ · 4.6★ (26) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Portfolio Block – The Ultimate Project & Portfolio Builder 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 17 too high 21 Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Portfolio Gallery – Ultimate Portfolio, Filterable Grid & Image Slider 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 16 too high 23 Essential Content Types 20K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 Elfi Masonry – Filterable Portfolio & Masonry Gallery Addon for Elementor 200+ · 3.0★ (2) 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.