Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “split post”

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 “split post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

WC Backorder Split shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Split Test For Elementor 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #1 2 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #14 ↓2 10 too low 5 Split Pay – Stripe Connect Split Payments & Multi-Vendor Marketplace for WooCommerce & FluentCart 100+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #5 6 Australia Post WooCommerce Extension 3K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #11 ↑3 2 too low 10 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 Related Posts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (325) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 Event Post 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #15 ↓2 16 jQuery Post Splitter 100+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Post Export Import with Media 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Manual Related Posts 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 WC Order Split 20+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #21 22 TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 WC Backorder Split 50+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 Post Kinds 100+ · 4.3★ (6) 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.