wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “single 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 “single posts”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Variations as Single Product – Display Single Variation for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 1526 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #3 ↓2 2 too low 2

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #5 ↑3 1 too low 5

Export Single Post Page 3K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #1 ↑1 5 too high 7

Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #11 ↓4 3 too low 9

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #18 9 too low 10

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #15 4 too low 12

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #17 ↑3 4 too low 14

Multiple Domain Mapping on Single Site 6K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #9 5 too high 15

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #24 9 too low 16

Variations as Single Product – Display Single Variation for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓1 9 too high 17

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #21 ↓11 4 too low 18

Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #16 ↓5 3 too high 20

Hide Posts 20K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too high 22

Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑7 9 too high 24

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