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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “1.0.0”

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 “1.0.0”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Viva.com | Smart Checkout for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Payment Gateway for Redsys & WooCommerce Lite places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 87 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Featured Image with URL 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Flash Toolkit 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Child Theme Check 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Payment Gateway for Redsys & WooCommerce Lite 20K+ · 4.9★ (87) wp.org #12 8 too low 5 Remove Meta Generators 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 morkva Liqpay Extended 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 QR Code Creator 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #23 15 too low 9 Cleanup Action Scheduler 1K+ · 3.2★ (6) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 kakao-tam 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Divi Product Carousel 200+ · 3.8★ (5) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 LottieFiles 7K+ · 2.3★ (18) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Demo Importer Plus 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 MORKVA Vchasno Kasa Integration 100+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 JetStyleManager for Gutenberg 10K+ · 2.6★ (9) wp.org #15 16 Tarot Card Oracle 100+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 MeSomb for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Viva.com | Smart Checkout for WooCommerce 7K+ · 2.3★ (7) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 WP Flashy Marketing Automation 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Progress Bars 500+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 T Terms Order WP – Categories And Taxonomies Order Plugin 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Suffice Toolkit 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 GetTerms Cookie Consent & Policies 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Indonesian Banks for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #19 5 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.