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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “trash menu”

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 “trash menu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 3 plugins are 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.

R

Ranked above its merit

Remove invalid menu items shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 1K+ 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

Duplicate Post places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 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 wp.org
1 Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #1 2 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #7 ↑3 4 too low 4 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #10 ↓3 6 too low 5 Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #15 ↓4 8 too low 8 Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #21 ↓9 13 too low 9 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #19 ↑4 10 too low 10 WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Media Trash Button 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 9 too high 12 Bulk menu creator 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Bulk Delete 30K+ · 4.3★ (129) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #12 ↑3 4 too high 17 Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too low 18 Advanced Menu Manager Pro – Built for Content-heavy WordPress Sites to Add, Filter, Lock, and Edit Menus Easily 400+ · 3.7★ (22) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #22 ↓3 3 too low 20 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #24 ↓3 4 too low 21 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 R Remove invalid menu items 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 19 too high 23 Flavor – Restaurant Menu & Table Reservations 100+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #9 14 too high 24 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #18 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.