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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post state”

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 state”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Solid Post Likes shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 1667 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 wp.org
1 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Country State City Dropdown CF7 5K+ · 4.9★ (30) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Public Post Preview 100K+ · 4.6★ (79) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Revive Social – Social Media Auto Post and Scheduling Automation Plugin 20K+ · 4.0★ (556) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #11 ↑6 4 too low 8 Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Archive Content with Archived Post Status 5K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15 Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 WP Post Redirect 3K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 P Post Order By Category 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 Unlist Posts & Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Easy Post Submission – Frontend Posting, Guest Publishing & Submit Content for WordPress 4K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓6 6 too high 23 Default Post Author 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Block Metrics – Animated State Counter 50+ · 5.0★ (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.