Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 button”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

nnax ReadMore shows at wp.org #4 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its — 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

Timeline Express places #11 on merit, 4.3★ from 165 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Gwolle Guestbook 20K+ · 4.8★ (113) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Easy Custom Auto Excerpt 6K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 Cision Block 70+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #7 8 Newsletters 2K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Clickit Readmore 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 8 too high 10 WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too low 11 Timeline Express 8K+ · 4.3★ (165) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 IdeaPush 700+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 ACF Recent Posts Widget 500+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 Dynamic Team Manager – Team Member Showcase with grid, slider, table Elementor widget & shortcode 900+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 nnax ReadMore — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 SKT Addons for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too high 17 Styble – Gutenberg Blocks Plugin and Page Builder Gutenberg Editor 40+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Civic Cookie Control 2K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 Gum Addon for Elementor 50K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 11 too high 20 Post Sliders 200+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Post Layouts 900+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 UiCore Elements – Free widgets and templates for Elementor 40K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Gosign – ReadMore Toggle Text Block 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 SmartUpWorld Post Slider — · 0.0★ (0) 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.