wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “twitter sidebar”

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 “twitter sidebar”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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.

Ranked above its merit

Ultimate Twitter Feeds shows at wp.org #3 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 21 places. Its 300+ 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

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin 30K+ · 4.9★ (724) not PHP-current wp.org #4 ↑6 2 too low 3

Autopost for X (formerly Autoshare for Twitter) 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #1 2 too high 4

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #7 3 too low 5

Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too low 6

Fuse Social Icons 10K+ · 4.6★ (58) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓1 7

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #20 13 too low 8

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too low 9

Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #16 7 too low 10

Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #18 8 too low 11

Better Click To Share – Shareable Quote Boxes for X (Twitter) 6K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12

Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #24 12 too low 13

XPoster – Share to Bluesky and Mastodon 10K+ · 3.8★ (69) wp.org #11 2 too high 14

Easy Feeds for X/Twitter – keep your site fresh with live social posts 1K+ · 3.9★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↓1 9 too high 15

Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 1 too high 17

Ultimate Floating Widgets – Make popup sidebars 3K+ · 4.9★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18

WP Socializer – Simple & Easy Social Media Share Icons 10K+ · 4.5★ (128) wp.org #22 4 too low 19

Supreme Modules Lite – Divi Theme, Extra Theme and Divi Builder 200K+ · 4.8★ (109) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20

Customize Feeds for Twitter 4K+ · 4.2★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21

WP Review Slider 6K+ · 4.8★ (181) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 2 too high 22

Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 1 too high 23

Sina Extension for Elementor 40K+ · 4.9★ (35) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 6 too high 24

Ultimate Twitter Feeds 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #3 21 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.