wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “similar 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 “similar posts”, 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

Similar Posts Ontology shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 50+ 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

Redirection places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 419 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WP 404 Auto Redirect to Similar Post 30K+ · 4.9★ (113) wp.org #4 ↓1 5

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too low 6

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #6 1 too high 8

Redirection 100K+ · 5.0★ (419) wp.org #13 ↑3 5 too low 9

Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11

WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12

Bulk Edit Posts and Products in Spreadsheet 7K+ · 4.8★ (217) wp.org #17 ↓4 5 too low 13

Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163) wp.org #19 5 too low 15

Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 16

Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News 30K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17

Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #23 6 too low 18

Archive Content with Archived Post Status 5K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #21 3 too low 19

Republish Old Posts 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too high 20

Internal Linking of Related Contents 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓3 3 too high 24

Auto Post Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 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.