wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “save 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 “save posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

Save & Go shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 913 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #1 2

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #3 4 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #4 5

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #6 ↑4 1 too low 6

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #8 ↑4 2 too low 7

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #7 ↓1 8

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #11 ↓3 3 too low 9

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #9 ↑15 1 too high 11

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #13 ↓4 2 too low 12

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15

Save & Go 200+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #5 12 too high 18

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #22 4 too low 19

Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20

Unlist Posts & Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21

Save as PDF Plugin by PDFCrowd 1K+ · 4.1★ (27) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22

GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 2 too low 23

FormsDB – Save Elementor Forms to Google Sheets & Post Type 20K+ · 4.6★ (19) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24

Weaver Show Posts 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓3 1 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.