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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “500px”

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 “500px”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Parallaxium – Parallax Widget for Elementor shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic places #8 on merit, 4.4★ from 1053 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 wp.org
1 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #1 2 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #5 ↑4 3 too low 3 WP Telegram Widget and Join Link 4K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #3 4 Mongoose Page Plugin 10K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #4 5 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #9 ↓4 4 too low 6 NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) wp.org #6 7 Garden Gnome Package 4K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic 10K+ · 4.4★ (1053) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 SpeakOut! Email Petitions 2K+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Meks Smart Social Widget 10K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 Code Snippet DM 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 12 Socicon 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 TwentyTwenty Compare 90+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑1 6 too high 14 H hearthis.at 100+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 HelpJet – AI Support Chatbot Trained on Your Website & Docs 100+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Weather Forecast Widget 200+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 Init Chat Engine – Real-Time, Community, Extensible 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 WBD Team Member – Gutenberg Block 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 Outline to Mind Map 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 MÜLLweg! DE 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 Ron Social Page Embed 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Parallaxium – Parallax Block for Block Editor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Parallaxium – Parallax Widget for Elementor 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 QR Code Generator & Scanner – Dynamic QR Codes for WordPress 80+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.