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

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 “preview posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 913 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

Public Post Preview 100K+ · 4.6★ (79) wp.org #1 2

Visual Link Preview 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #2 3

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Wikipedia Preview 1K+ · 4.8★ (37) wp.org #3 2 too high 6

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #7 ↑8 8

Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #6 2 too high 9

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #14 5 too low 10

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #10 ↓1 11

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #12 1 too low 12

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #19 ↑2 6 too low 14

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #15 ↓4 1 too low 15

Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16

Unlist Posts & Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #13 3 too high 17

Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #17 18

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓2 9 too high 19

Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #20 21

Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22

Flexible Layout Preview Image for ACF 800+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓5 1 too low 23

WP Social Preview 800+ · 3.5★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24

Shortcode Preview Block 900+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #16 8 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.