Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “reorder”, 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

Reorder Terms shows at wp.org #1 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ 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

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 738 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 CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Checkout Field Manager (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.5★ (784) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 Reorder Posts – Quick Post Type and Page Ordering 10K+ · 3.9★ (28) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Reorder by Term 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Simple Page Ordering 100K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too low 15 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 Reorder Terms 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 15 too high 17 WPB Custom Tab Manager for WooCommerce – Add, Edit & Reorder Tabs 500+ · 4.5★ (14) wp.org #8 ↑2 9 too high 18 Rearrange Products for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Intuitive Custom Post Order 400K+ · 4.4★ (139) wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #17 ↑3 3 too high 21 MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #21 22 Reorder Multisite Sites Dropdown 10+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 Repeat Order for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24 AffiliateWP – Affiliate Area Tabs 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.