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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “reading 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 “reading list”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 187 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Reading Time WP 20K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #1 2 VS Event List 8K+ · 4.9★ (82) wp.org #2 3 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #3 4 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Show modified Date in admin lists 6K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #5 ↑1 7 too high 13 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17 Restricted Site Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Download List Block with Icons 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 Forms for Mailchimp by Optin Cat – Grow Your MailChimp List 2K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Website LLMs.txt 50K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too high 21 CM Curated List Manager – Effortless tool for link management 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 11 too high 23 Sam Reading Time 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓3 10 too high 24 MinuteRead – Reading Time for Posts 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #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.