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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “address check”

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 “address check”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Postcode.eu Address Validation shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ 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

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #1 2 Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #3 4 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #15 10 too low 6 Autocomplete Google Address 2K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 Address Autocomplete Anything – Google Address Autocomplete for Any Form 900+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Address Book for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Email Address Obfuscation 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 9 too high 14 ELEX WooCommerce Address Validation & Google Address Autocomplete Plugin 700+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Contact List – Online Staff Directory & Address Book 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 UK Address Postcode Validation 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑1 8 too high 17 Address Book & Multiple Shipping for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #21 ↑2 4 too low 18 WP ADA Compliance Check Basic 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20 Address Validation and Autocomplete for WooCommerce | Addressfinder 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 CMS ADMINS Security Check Report 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Postcode.eu Address Validation 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 IP Address Approval 100+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Instant Indexing & Check for Google and Bing SEO 400+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.