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

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 term”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

WP Term Images shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Media Library Assistant places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 202 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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

Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #3 4

PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

WP Term Order 6K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #8 ↑12 2 too low 7

Beautiful taxonomy filters 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #17 ↓2 9 too low 9

Taxonomy Switcher 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 11

Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #21 10 too low 12

Term Management Tools 10K+ · 4.9★ (76) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13

Term Taxonomy Converter 500+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #6 7 too high 14

List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ · 4.7★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15

WP Term Images 2K+ · 4.6★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #7 8 too high 16

WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

Taxonomy Term Listing for Visual Composer 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18

Reorder by Term 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #16 2 too high 19

WP Term Colors 700+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20

Taxonomy/Term and Role-based Discounts for WooCommerce 200+ · 4.4★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21

Remove Taxonomy URL 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 S Simple Taxonomy Refreshed 400+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 too low 23

WP Taxonomy Order 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

WP Taxonomy Manager 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 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.