Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 terms”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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.

T

Ranked above its merit

The Taxonomy Sort shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post Views Counter places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1236 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 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #1 2 TermsFeed AutoTerms: Privacy Policy Generator, Cookie Consent, GDPR, CCPA, Terms & Conditions, Disclaimers, Cookies Policy, EULA 70K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 WP Sort Order 6K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Term Order 6K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #13 ↓2 8 too low 6 PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 I Order Terms 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Product Sort and Display for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.1★ (45) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Posts Table with Search & Sort 3K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #7 ↑1 7 too high 15 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too high 20 T The Taxonomy Sort 60+ · 4.1★ (14) wp.org #8 ↓1 12 too high 21 P Post Terms Order – per Post based 2K+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Glossary Tooltip – Highlight Terms & Show Tooltips 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 T Terms Order WP – Categories And Taxonomies Order Plugin 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Clever Linked Terms 10+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.