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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ajax refresh”

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 “ajax refresh”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Auto Refresh Post & Page shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 80+ 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

Sliding Cart for WooCommerce by FunnelKit – Skip Cart & Reach WooCommerce Checkout Faster places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 111 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Read More Without Refresh 20K+ · 4.2★ (55) wp.org #1 2 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #2 3 Login With Ajax – Fast Logins, 2FA, Redirects 10K+ · 4.6★ (167) wp.org #3 4 Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box 2K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Merge + Minify + Refresh 3K+ · 4.2★ (68) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Ajaxify Comments – Ajax and Lazy Loading Comments 3K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #17 ↑7 9 too low 9 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #19 ↓2 9 too low 11 Dynamic AJAX Product Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Sliding Cart for WooCommerce by FunnelKit – Skip Cart & Reach WooCommerce Checkout Faster 30K+ · 5.0★ (111) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Cart Popup for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.4★ (70) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Live Auto Refresh (Hot Reload / Live Reload for WordPress Developers) 100+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Tripzzy – Travel Engine System 100+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17 Fast Cart – Ultralight Ajax Side Cart for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Auto Refresh Post & Page 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Add to Cart Ajax for Hello Elementor 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 ACE Product Filters – AJAX Filters for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Live Data Display 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑2 10 too high 23 OrderPulse: Auto Refresh Orders for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 ThemeHunk – Side Cart, Ajax Cart & Menu Cart for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.