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

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 “academic”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Scholar Sync – Academic Publications & Researcher Profiles shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10+ 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

SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 402 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 wp.org
1 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Zotpress 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Academic Certificate Verification – Certificate Management & Certificate Validator 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too low 6 SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 too low 7 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8 Footnotes Made Easy 2K+ · 4.6★ (40) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Ninja Tables – Easy Data Table Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (472) wp.org #17 ↓4 8 too low 10 Icon Element – Icon Pack for Elementor Page Builder (6718 icons) 40K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #4 ↓1 6 too high 11 School Management System – WPSchoolPress 1K+ · 4.0★ (21) wp.org #5 ↑4 6 too high 12 The School Management – Education & Learning ERP 700+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #23 ↓12 10 too low 14 Educare – Students & Result Management System 600+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 List all posts by Authors, nested Categories and Titles 600+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Timeline Module for Divi 3K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 C Commons In A Box 20+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Heroic Glossary – Block for building Glossaries, Dictionaries and more 3K+ · 3.8★ (10) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Editoria11y Accessibility Checker 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #12 ↑9 9 too high 22 Academic Publications Showcase 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓2 12 too high 23 Scholar Sync – Academic Publications & Researcher Profiles 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 14 too high 24 EDU Results Publishing – Student Result Management 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 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.