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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “recent cpt”

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 “recent cpt”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Recent CPT Widget Thumbnails shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its — 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

WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel places #7 on merit, 4.5★ from 415 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 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #1 2 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #15 ↑1 10 too low 6 WP Notification Bell 700+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415) wp.org #21 ↑1 14 too low 8 Simple Blog Stats 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 CatFolders – WordPress Media Library Folders & Categories 6K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #10 11 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Duplicate Pages, Posts and CPT 5K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Proxy & VPN Blocker 1K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 Zhanzhangb Indexing Submission for Baidu 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Recent Posts Widget Advanced 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↓1 15 too high 19 VK Link Target Controller 30K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 11 too high 20 Recent CPT Widget Thumbnails — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 16 too high 21 Bulk Page Duplicator 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 WP Posts Bulk Actions 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 Topper Pack 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Embedded Posts 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.