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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “toc shortcode”

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 “toc shortcode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Mocursor Smart TOC shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LuckyWP Table of Contents places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 884 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #1 2 Joli Table Of Contents – Table of Contents with Gutenberg Block & Shortcode 7K+ · 4.9★ (43) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #9 ↑3 4 too low 6 Glossary 2K+ · 4.7★ (84) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 LuckyWP Table of Contents 90K+ · 4.9★ (884) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 Echo Knowledge Base – Documentation, FAQs, Chat & Smart Search 10K+ · 4.9★ (124) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Yada Wiki 2K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 weDocs: AI Powered Knowledge Base, Docs, Documentation, Wiki & AI Chatbot 5K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Knowledge Base documentation & wiki plugin – BasePress Docs 2K+ · 4.8★ (75) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 EazyDocs – AI Powered Knowledge Base, Wiki, Documentation & FAQ Builder 2K+ · 4.7★ (100) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #23 ↓2 10 too low 14 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Gutentor – Gutenberg Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor 30K+ · 4.6★ (90) wp.org #21 ↑2 6 too low 16 WP EXtra – One Click Optimize 6K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #20 ↑2 4 too low 17 Muki Floating TOC 10+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 Squad Modules Lite – Free Divi 5 & Divi 4 Modules for Divi Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 CM Table Of Contents – Clear navigation for better content discovery 100+ · 3.3★ (9) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 Mocursor Smart TOC 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 16 too high 21 Knowledge Base 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Accordion FAQ – FAQ Schema, Block & Shortcode with Live Search 100+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 Digital Table of Contents 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 T TOC Builder by RobertIvan — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 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.