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← Rankings

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

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 “aim”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

AIM Transparency – AI Disclosure for EU AI Act shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 90+ 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

PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 230 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #1 2 Gutenberg 400K+ · 2.1★ (3888) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board 6K+ · 4.9★ (178) wp.org #5 ↑5 2 too low 4 ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 SearchWP Live Ajax Search 40K+ · 4.7★ (36) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Direct Checkout for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (408) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Query Monitor 200K+ · 4.9★ (470) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 10K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 Social Sharing (by Danny) 2K+ · 5.0★ (68) wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 Companion Auto Update 40K+ · 4.8★ (105) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #18 ↑3 3 too low 16 Preferred Languages 3K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17 Astra Widgets 200K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Fusion Page Builder 3K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19 InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 AIM Transparency – AI Disclosure for EU AI Act 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 ↓1 14 too high 21 AiM Blog Engine 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 12 too high 22 CHIP for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 Aims Textarea Wordcount with/without Space For Contact Form 7 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓4 13 too high 24 AffiliateWP – Affiliate Area Tabs 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.