wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “1.1.8”

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 “1.1.8”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Premmerce Variation Swatches for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 626 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

Plugin Detective – Troubleshooting Conflicts 5K+ · 4.0★ (49) not PHP-current wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Flash Toolkit 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #16 13 too low 4

FileOrganizer – WordPress File Manager 200K+ · 4.8★ (49) wp.org #18 14 too low 5

Smooth Back To Top Button 40K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #17 12 too low 6

Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 18 too low 7

Flying Scripts: Delay JavaScript to Improve Site Speed & Performance 30K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #23 16 too low 8

Limit Comments and Word Count 40+ · 4.4★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #9 1 too low 9

Ua Marketplace 100+ · 4.3★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #6 3 too high 10

Lightweight Sidebar Manager 80K+ · 4.2★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #21 10 too low 12

Demo Importer Plus 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #3 9 too high 13

LIQUID SPEECH BALLOON 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #22 9 too low 14

PlatformInfo 70+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #4 10 too high 15

a3 Responsive Slider 200+ · 2.6★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #8 7 too high 16

Video Popup Block – YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok Lightbox by WPZOOM 10K+ · 4.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #20 4 too low 17

Simpler Checkout 50+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #10 7 too high 18

CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #19 20

Premmerce Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #5 15 too high 21

Storyino 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #12 9 too high 22

Speed Auditor — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #15 7 too high 23

WysylajTaniej.pl — przesyłki kurierskie 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #14 9 too high 24

Allinpay INTL 80+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 11 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.