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

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 series”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 1170 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

Issues and Series for Newspapers, Magazines, Publishers, Writers 2K+ · 4.5★ (73) wp.org #1 2 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #2 3

Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5

Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #5 6

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #11 5 too low 7

Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #12 5 too low 8

Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) wp.org #14 6 too low 9

Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #10 1 too low 10

PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11

WP Post Series 600+ · 4.7★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #3 8 too high 12

Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #13 1 too low 13

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #20 7 too low 14

Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓3 5 too high 15

PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board 6K+ · 4.9★ (178) wp.org #19 4 too low 16

Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #21 4 too low 18

PublishPress Checklists: Pre-Publishing Approval Checklist – Validate Post Requirements 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #15 3 too high 19

Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↑1 13 too high 20

Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21

Toocheke Companion 1K+ · 4.6★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #23 2 too low 22

Content Update Scheduler 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #24 2 too low 23

PublishPress Statuses – Custom Post Status and Workflow 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #18 5 too high 24

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.