wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post editing”
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 editing”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172)
wp.org #4 5 
Simple Comment Editing 2K+ · 4.8★ (55)
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↑2 7 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #13 6 too low 8 
Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (255)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #7 2 too high 10 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #10 11 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too high 12 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 
Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140)
wp.org #20 6 too low 15 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget) 10K+ · 4.9★ (80)
wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 
JSM Show Post Metadata 10K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #12 5 too high 18 
W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Hide Page And Post Title 40K+ · 3.6★ (54)
wp.org #15 4 too high 20 
Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 
MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #11 11 too high 23 
Post Type Transfer 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 
VK Post Author Display 10K+ · 4.5★ (8) 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.