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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “shortcodes list”

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 “shortcodes list”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 4626 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 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) wp.org #1 2 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #2 3 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 VS Event List 8K+ · 4.9★ (82) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Easy Bootstrap Shortcode 6K+ · 4.0★ (50) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4626) wp.org #23 15 too low 9 List categories 5K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Arconix Shortcodes 4K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #21 ↑1 10 too low 12 JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Contact List – Online Staff Directory & Address Book 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Plugins List 700+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Coupon Shortcodes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 12 Step Meeting List 900+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Authors List 5K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 List Last Changes 1K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles 4K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #8 ↑1 13 too high 22 Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 List Child Pages Shortcode 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 Uix Shortcodes 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.