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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “subfolders”

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 “subfolders”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Folderify – Media Library Folders shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Iptanus File Upload places #8 on merit, 4.4★ from 117 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #1 2 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #2 3 WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #3 4 Media Library Organizer – Folders, File Manager & Media Categories 20K+ · 4.7★ (150) wp.org #4 5 Real Media Library: Media Library Folder & File Manager 100K+ · 4.8★ (298) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Image and video gallery from Google Drive 4K+ · 4.3★ (39) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #16 ↑2 8 too low 9 Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 CatFolders – WordPress Media Library Folders & Categories 6K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 C Custom Upload Dir 5K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Prevent Files / Folders Access 1K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 CatFolders Document Gallery & PDF Library 3K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Mediamatic – Media Library Folders 1K+ · 3.9★ (16) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Library Viewer 400+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Clonable – Translate Woocommerce / WordPress website. Multilingual in 5 minutes. 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Store file uploads for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 iFolders – Ultimate Folder Organizer for Media Library, Pages, Posts and Users 300+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Each domain a page 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Add From Server Lite 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Security.txt Manager 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 PixelVault – Media Library Folders, Document Library & File Manager 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Folderify – Media Library Folders 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 11 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.