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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “simple faq”

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 “simple faq”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 5 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

Advanced FAQ Manager shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Echo Knowledge Base – Documentation, FAQs, Chat & Smart Search places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 124 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #1 2 Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186) wp.org #2 3 Helpie FAQ — Accordion, Docs & Knowledge Base 8K+ · 4.5★ (80) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 Seriously Simple Podcasting 20K+ · 4.7★ (330) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Easy Accordion – AI-Powered FAQ & Accordion Blocks, Product FAQ 70K+ · 4.9★ (358) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Ultimate FAQ Accordion Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (439) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks – Easy Redirect Manager 100K+ · 3.8★ (162) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #17 ↓6 7 too low 11 Echo Knowledge Base – Documentation, FAQs, Chat & Smart Search 10K+ · 4.9★ (124) wp.org #24 ↓1 13 too low 12 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Quick and Easy FAQs 10K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #10 ↓3 3 too high 14 Simple Side Tab 10K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Simple Blog Stats 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Ultimate FAQ Solution 600+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Very Simple Google Maps 3K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18 FAQ Schema – Accordion, Tab, Slider & Gutenberg Block 2K+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 FAQly – Ultimate FAQ 1K+ · 3.8★ (5) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 FAQ Magic – AI powered FAQ generator 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Convert Rank Math FAQ to Accordion 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 Advanced FAQ Manager 2K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23 Simple SEO 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 Awesome FAQ – answer questions before customers ask 1K+ · 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.