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← Rankings

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

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 ordering”, we agree with wp.org 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

Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Nested Pages places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 126 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Page Ordering 100K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #1 2 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #3 4 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Reorder Posts – Quick Post Type and Page Ordering 10K+ · 3.9★ (28) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #11 ↑3 3 too low 9 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #14 ↑3 5 too low 10 Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #7 ↑3 3 too high 11 Category Posts in Custom Menu 2K+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126) wp.org #19 ↑2 7 too low 13 Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107) wp.org #13 ↓2 14 Orderable – Restaurant & Food Ordering System 5K+ · 4.6★ (40) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #16 ↑2 1 too high 18 Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 2K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #8 ↓2 11 too high 20 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 Menu In Post 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 GS Posts Grid – Recent Posts, Category Posts, Post Filter, Slider & List 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 WP Featured Posts 300+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Latest Posts Block – Dynamic Posts Grid, Posts List, Posts Tile with Stunning Layouts for WordPress Blogs & Pages 6K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.