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

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 loads”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Hide Posts shows at wp.org #15 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 22 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 1526 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #1 2

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #2 3

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #3 4

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #6 2 too high 9

Ajax Load More – Infinite Scroll, Load More, & Lazy Load 30K+ · 4.8★ (287) wp.org #10 1 too low 10

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #14 4 too low 11

a3 Lazy Load 80K+ · 4.3★ (148) wp.org #8 3 too high 12

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #11 2 too high 14

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #20 6 too low 15

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #16 1 too low 16

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #13 3 too high 17

Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #15 4 too high 20

LazyLoad Plugin – Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes 100K+ · 4.2★ (139) wp.org #23 3 too low 21

Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too high 22

Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #18 4 too high 23

Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #22 2 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.