wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp 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 “wp post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

WP Post Page Clone shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1138 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #1 2

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #5 ↑3 1 too low 5

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #4 ↑5 1 too high 6

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #6 ↓2 7

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #7 ↑5 8

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #10 ↓7 2 too low 9

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #9 ↑14 10

WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too low 11

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #16 5 too low 12

WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #19 7 too low 13

WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #15 ↓5 2 too low 14

Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↓1 6 too high 15

Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #14 ↑2 1 too high 16

WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #20 4 too low 17

WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #13 4 too high 18

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #22 ↓4 3 too low 20

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #17 3 too high 21

WP Post Page Clone 70K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑2 10 too high 22

WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too high 23

Wp Post Views – WordPress Post views counter 4K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↑1 24

WP Post Redirect 3K+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #24

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.