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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remote posts”

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 “remote posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Display Remote Posts Block shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 700+ 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

JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 1056 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #1 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 3 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #3 4 The WP Remote WordPress Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (74) wp.org #4 5 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #11 ↑2 5 too low 7 Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too low 10 Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264) wp.org #17 ↓7 7 too low 11 JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #22 ↑1 11 too low 12 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #23 ↓6 9 too low 15 Remote Website Management by Watchful 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 ↓1 7 too high 16 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #16 ↑3 17 TableOn – WordPress Posts Table Filterable 200+ · 4.6★ (15) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 Sync Post With Other Site 3K+ · 3.9★ (29) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 WP Remote Thumbnail 60+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Downloadyar Remote Media 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑2 13 too high 21 Display Remote Posts Block 700+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 RS Remote Site Manager 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 13 too high 23 WP Remote Site Search 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Posts Bridge – Remote CMS 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑2 5 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.