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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sort size”

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 “sort size”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Product Sort and Display for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 45 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 #2 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 reviews, but shows at wp.org #6. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Perfect Images: Regenerate Thumbnails, Image Sizes, WebP & AVIF 60K+ · 4.8★ (279) wp.org #5 ↓3 2 too low 4 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #7 ↓2 3 too low 5 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Media Library File Size 6K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #3 ↑4 4 too high 8 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too low 9 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #10 ↑2 1 too low 10 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Admin Columns 100K+ · 4.9★ (1652) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Product Sort and Display for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.1★ (45) wp.org #4 ↓1 10 too high 15 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Gallery by Visual Portfolio 60K+ · 4.8★ (340) wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19 SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid 20K+ · 4.7★ (353) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Media Library Organizer – Folders, File Manager & Media Categories 20K+ · 4.7★ (150) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #22 ↓3 23 Author Avatars List/Block 4K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 FileBird Document Library 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #18 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.