wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “safe post”

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 “safe post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

Post Layouts shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Contextual Related Posts places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 201 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Safe Redirect Manager 40K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #1 2

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #2 3

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #3 ↑2 4

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #4 5

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6

The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓3 1 too high 8

SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11

Hide Page And Post Title 40K+ · 3.6★ (54) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12

Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #12 ↓1 13

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #23 ↑1 10 too low 14

MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #20 ↓10 5 too low 16

Page and Post Restriction 1K+ · 4.3★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓6 5 too low 17

Social Post Flow – Social Media Automation, Scheduling, Scheduler, Posting & Auto Post 200+ · 4.2★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑6 6 too high 18

Simple Page Redirect 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19

Post Export Import with Media 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑3 2 too high 20

Advanced Post Manager 4K+ · 3.5★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21

Post Layouts 900+ · 4.5★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 8 too high 22

Trash Fail Safe 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #19 3 too high 23

DevDome Media Cleaner: Remove Unused Images & Media Library Cleanup 400+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Post slider elementor addons 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓4 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.