wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “temporary post”
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 “temporary post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
SmartDoc to Post Importer shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1550)
wp.org #1 2 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709)
wp.org #2 3 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too low 5 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #5 6 
Migrate Guru – Site Migration & Cloning 200K+ · 4.9★ (1644)
wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too low 7 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #14 ↑2 7 too low 8 
Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869)
wp.org #8 ↑1 9 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too low 10 
Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170)
wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too low 11 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #20 9 too low 12 
Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically 300+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 8 too high 13 
Seraphinite Post .DOCX Source 800+ · 4.6★ (45)
wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too high 14 
Simple Page Redirect 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑2 7 too high 15 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 
WPFront Scroll Top 200K+ · 4.9★ (142)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94)
wp.org #22 ↑2 5 too low 18 
Block Temporary Email 400+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑2 8 too high 19 
DHL Shipping Germany for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.0★ (47)
wp.org #19 ↑3 20 SmartDoc to Post Importer 300+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑2 9 too high 21 
CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ · 4.6★ (27)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
AI Auto Post & Image Generator 200+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too high 23 
Auto Post Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too high 24 
PDF Generator for Posts & Pages – Export Any Post Type to PDF 90+ · 1.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑3 6 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.