wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post css”
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 “post css”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 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.
Buried gem
Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1488 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #1 2 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #2 3 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #3 4 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #4 5 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237)
wp.org #6 ↑6 1 too low 6 
CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612)
wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #11 ↓1 12 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too high 13 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too high 14 
Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) heavy footprint
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 
Simple CSS 80K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #15 2 too high 18 
Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163)
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31)
wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 
Post/Page Specific Custom Code 6K+ · 4.6★ (42)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
CSS JS Manager, Async JavaScript, Defer Render Blocking CSS 1K+ · 4.8★ (90) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 
Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 
Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 
Modular Custom CSS 400+ · 5.0★ (6) 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.