wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post type widget”
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 type widget”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 26 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1516 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #3 4 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #4 5 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #5 6 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #8 ↑10 2 too low 7 
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516)
wp.org #19 8 too low 12 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 
Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget) 10K+ · 4.9★ (80)
wp.org #13 ↓1 14 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #23 ↓3 9 too low 15 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #16 ↓1 17 
Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #21 4 too low 18 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 4 too high 19 
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too high 21 Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22 
Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31)
wp.org #22 23 
Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #20 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.