Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “readmore”

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 “readmore”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 5 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

Simple Expand – Lightweight Read more toggle shows at wp.org #4 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 210 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (86) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Easy Custom Auto Excerpt 6K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Gwolle Guestbook 20K+ · 4.8★ (113) wp.org #11 8 too low 4 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #12 8 too low 5 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Cision Block 70+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #6 7 Timeline Express 8K+ · 4.3★ (165) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 ACF Recent Posts Widget 500+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #8 9 Clickit Readmore 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 8 too high 10 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #23 ↑1 13 too low 11 Custom Query Blocks 700+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #19 ↑1 8 too low 12 nnax ReadMore — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 9 too high 13 Gosign – Background Container Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 14 LAPDI Featured Posts 70+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Simple Expand – Lightweight Read more toggle 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 ↑1 11 too high 16 Civic Cookie Control 2K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Gosign – ReadMore Toggle Text Block 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 Post Layouts 900+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Post Sliders 200+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 UiCore Elements – Free widgets and templates for Elementor 40K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Gum Addon for Elementor 50K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Gosign – Logo Slider Block 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 Gosign – Notification And Alert Block 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 Gosign – Google Maps Block 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.