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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “reading position”

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 position”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 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 #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 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

Simple Custom Post Order places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 588 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Reading Position Indicator 800+ · 5.0★ (66) wp.org #1 2 Reading progressbar 6K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #2 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 WP Reading Progress 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #4 5 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too low 6 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 Tarot, Oracle cards, Tarot readings, Tarokina 300+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #8 9 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #17 ↑3 6 too low 12 Joli Table Of Contents – Table of Contents with Gutenberg Block & Shortcode 7K+ · 4.9★ (43) wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too low 13 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #23 ↓5 10 too low 14 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 CMB2 300K+ · 5.0★ (91) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 Website LLMs.txt 50K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too high 17 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 Reading Time 200+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Plover Kit – Blocks, Patterns, Responsive Layout and Gutenberg Editor Enhancements 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Catch Scroll Progress Bar 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 MinuteRead – Reading Time for Posts 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Search Engine Insights for Google Search Console 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Scroll to Top – Smooth Scroll Up, Back to Top & Reading Progress Bar 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 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.