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

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 posts widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Beautiful taxonomy filters shows at wp.org #10 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 68 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post Views Counter places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1237 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

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 4

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) wp.org #6 1 too high 8

Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #12 4 too low 9

SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #8 2 too high 11

List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #13 2 too low 12

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #18 6 too low 13

Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #15 2 too low 14

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #14 15 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #11 4 too high 16

Beautiful taxonomy filters 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #10 6 too high 17

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #19 2 too low 18

PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #16 2 too high 19

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #22 3 too low 20

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #23 2 too low 22

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #24 2 too low 23

Magical Posts Display – Elementor Advanced Posts widgets 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #17 6 too high 24 S Simple Taxonomy Refreshed 400+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #20 4 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.