wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “views posts”

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 “views posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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

Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 3K+ 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

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 913 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #1 2

Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #2 3

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #4 5

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #7 2 too low 6

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #11 3 too low 9

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #16 7 too low 10

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #24 14 too low 11

WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #15 4 too low 12

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #20 7 too low 14

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

Advanced Views – Display Framework – Gutenberg/Elementor/Shortcode 3K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #12 3 too high 16

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #21 5 too low 17

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #18 1 too low 18

Page View Count 10K+ · 4.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 10 too high 19

Post Views for Jetpack 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #10 9 too high 20

Wp Post Views – WordPress Post views counter 4K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #6 15 too high 22

Post View Count 4K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #17 5 too high 23

Unlist Posts & Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24

Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #5 19 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.