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

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

WP Taxonomy Manager shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #1 2

Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #2 3

List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ · 4.7★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Beautiful taxonomy filters 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #5 6

PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #8 ↑7 1 too low 8

Taxonomy Switcher 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #6 2 too high 9

Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #15 ↑3 6 too low 10

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #18 ↑3 8 too low 11

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #19 ↓3 7 too low 13

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #20 ↓6 7 too low 14

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #14 15

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #23 ↓4 8 too low 16

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 S Simple Taxonomy Refreshed 400+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓2 7 too high 18

Term Taxonomy Converter 500+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19

WP Taxonomy Order 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓2 10 too high 20

MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↑3 1 too low 21

Remove Taxonomy URL 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22

Advanced Category and Custom Taxonomy Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓3 6 too high 23

WP Taxonomy Manager 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24

Taxonomy Tags to Checkboxes 700+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓2

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.