wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “3.0”

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 “3.0”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 4 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

Burger Companion shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10K+ 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

WP2Social Auto Publish places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 640 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) not PHP-current wp.org #4 5

WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

Art WooCommerce Order One Click 4K+ · 5.0★ (36) wp.org #6 7

Widget Content Blocks 10K+ · 4.8★ (60) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO 100K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #5 3 too high 9

WP2Social Auto Publish 9K+ · 4.8★ (640) wp.org #20 11 too low 10

YITH WooCommerce Wishlist 400K+ · 3.9★ (262) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 11 W WP-dTree 2K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #12 1 too low 12

MC4WP: Mailchimp Top Bar – Email Subscribe Notification Bar 6K+ · 4.6★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 3 too high 13

Custom Login 10K+ · 3.6★ (97) wp.org #16 3 too low 14

Hyyan Integration for WooCommerce and Polylang 8K+ · 4.7★ (124) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 8 too low 15

GravityWP – CSS Selector 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #13 2 too high 16

User Login History 10K+ · 4.6★ (29) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 7 too low 17

Purchased Items Column for WooCommerce Orders 700+ · 5.0★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 2 too high 18

Change Username 4K+ · 4.6★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #18 19

mosparo Integration 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #21 2 too low 20

Remove Taxonomy URL 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #19 1 too high 21

Desert Companion 10K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #14 7 too high 22

Burger Companion 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #11 11 too high 23 S Shortcodes in Sidebar 400+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Svea Checkout for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current 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.