wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “posts list”

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 “posts list”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple Custom Post Order places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 588 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #1 2 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #2 ↑2 3

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5

W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #6 ↑3 7

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #15 ↓5 6 too low 10 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #12 ↑3 1 too low 12

VS Event List 8K+ · 4.9★ (82) wp.org #14 ↓7 2 too low 13

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #16 ↑5 3 too low 14

List categories 5K+ · 4.5★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑2 4 too high 15

Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑2 6 too high 16

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #24 8 too low 17

Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 1 too high 19

Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20

Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #18 2 too high 21

Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22

Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑2 11 too high 23

Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 4 too high 24

Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles 4K+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓5 3 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.