wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp 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 “wp posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 #17 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 7 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 #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1138 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. 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 #2 3

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #5 6

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #6 7

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #9 10

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #8 2 too high 11

WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #15 4 too low 12

WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #13 1 too low 13

WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #16 3 too low 14

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #11 3 too high 15

WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #12 3 too high 16

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #19 3 too low 17

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #20 3 too low 18

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #14 4 too high 19

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #24 5 too low 20

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #18 2 too high 21

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #23 1 too low 23

WP-PageNavi 400K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #21 2 too high 24

WP Post Page Clone 70K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #17 7 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.