Plugin Pulse Beta
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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remote publishing”

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 publishing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Multi Site Post Publisher shows at wp.org #4 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 70 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 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #1 2 WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher 10K+ · 4.8★ (514) wp.org #2 3 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too low 4 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 PowerPress Podcasting plugin by Blubrry 20K+ · 4.6★ (231) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 CMB2 300K+ · 5.0★ (91) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 MPL-Publisher — Ebook & Audiobook Creator 700+ · 4.9★ (46) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too low 9 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 Podlove Podcast Publisher 3K+ · 4.3★ (45) wp.org #10 11 ActivityPub 6K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 XPoster – Share to Bluesky and Mastodon 10K+ · 3.8★ (69) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Simple Disable XML-RPC 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↓1 6 too high 14 WP EXtra – One Click Optimize 6K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 StoryChief 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 Multi Site Post Publisher 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑1 12 too high 17 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 LeadConnector 20K+ · 2.3★ (11) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 AI Content Creator – Easy ChatGPT powered article generator 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 LH Cache Remote Images 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 9 too high 22 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too high 23 SitePublisher AI 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 GetAutoSEO AI Tool 2K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.