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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “additional description”

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 “additional description”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Category Description for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #2 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 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 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #8 ↑2 2 too low 7 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too high 9 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Additional Custom Emails & Recipients for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Extra Product Options Builder for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (94) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Category Description for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 16 too high 19 P Product Categories/Tags Bottom Description for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 ↑1 14 too high 20 Terms descriptions 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Additional Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #22 23 Additional Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #21 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.