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

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 “actions”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

WP Posts Bulk Actions 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 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 1397 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 wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Easy Actions Scheduler Cleaner 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 A Action Scheduler 20K+ · 3.5★ (13) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #15 ↓3 9 too low 7 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #13 ↑10 6 too low 8 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too low 11 Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #18 ↓2 7 too low 12 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #24 ↓7 12 too low 13 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #23 ↑1 10 too low 14 WANotifier for Forms and Actions 900+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #21 ↓2 6 too low 16 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 WS Action Scheduler Cleaner 3K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #22 ↓4 3 too low 20 WP Posts Bulk Actions 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑1 15 too high 21 Cleanup Action Scheduler 1K+ · 3.2★ (6) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Organizers Embed – Action Network for WordPress 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 Call To Action Customizable Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 14 too high 24 ZS Action Scheduler Optimizer 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓2 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.