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

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 “subpages”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

List Sub Pages shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Seers AI | Cookie Consent Banner – GDPR & CCPA Compliant Consent Management Platform places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 52 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #1 2 CC Child Pages 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Cookiebot by Usercentrics – Automatic Cookie Banner for GDPR/CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Auto Submenu 2K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #4 5 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 GTM Kit – Google Tag Manager & GA4 integration 30K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Affiliate Super Assistent 1K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Seers AI | Cookie Consent Banner – GDPR & CCPA Compliant Consent Management Platform 1K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Posts and Users Stats 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Bulk menu creator 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Geo Redirect 1K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 WebMan Amplifier 1K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 List Child Pages Shortcode 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Subpage as Expandable Text Shortcode 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 One-V LLM Serve 20+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 X3P0: Breadcrumbs 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 ES Football Bypass for Cloudflare 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑3 2 too low 18 List Sub Pages 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 oik 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Formbricks 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 L List Children 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Increase average cart value with Cross-Sell – Splendid Sales Booster for WooCommerce 10+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 BreadcrumbsPress 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 CookiePilot – Cookie Consent & GDPR | Cookiebot Alternative 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.