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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “vertical 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 “vertical post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Vertical News Scroller shows at wp.org #4 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1680 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post Slider and Post Carousel with Post Vertical Scrolling Widget – A Responsive Post Slider 10K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #1 2 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #2 3 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News 20K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too low 10 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 40K+ · 3.8★ (119) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Vertical News Scroller 5K+ · 4.3★ (17) wp.org #4 ↓1 8 too high 13 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News 30K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Vertical Image Slider – Responsive Thumbnail Slider with Lightbox 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Post Timeline 700+ · 4.2★ (21) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Responsive Tabs — Horizontal, Vertical & Accordion Tabs for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 Social Post Flow – Social Media Automation, Scheduling, Scheduler, Posting & Auto Post 200+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Post Grid & Post Slider – Carousel, Filter Tabs & Related Posts 1K+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Post Auto Vertical Scrolling 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 fullPage Vertical & Horizontal Slider – Snap Scroll Sections & More 300+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.