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

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 “alarm”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Cron Setup and Monitor – Get URL Cron shows at wp.org #1 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Melapress File Monitor 5K+ · 4.1★ (32) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 TS Poll – Survey, Versus Poll, Image Poll, Video Poll 3K+ · 4.7★ (235) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too low 4 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #4 5 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #22 ↑1 17 too low 6 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 New Order Notification for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Funnelforms Free – Multi Step Form, Contact Form & Lead Funnel Builder 1K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 phpinfo() WP – Site Health, PHP Compatibility & Server Audit 3K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 Cron Setup and Monitor – Get URL Cron 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #1 9 too high 11 ACS Points Plugin 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 8 too high 12 Ordafide Order Integrity for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 WebChange Detector: Visual Regression Testing & Visual Checks After Updates 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 DevDome Malware Scanner – WordPress Malware Removal & Security Scanner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑8 4 too high 15 WordSec – Malware Scanner & Removal, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and 2FA 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Emergency Services Alarm Popup for Divera24/7 — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 Glimmernet Spot Check 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 SentWatch – Email Uptime Monitoring 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Airworthy – PHP Compatibility & Upgrade Checker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Dragon Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & 404 Fixer 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 WebDiagnosis Site Audit 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 BackupBeacon — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓4 2 too low 23 Activity Track – User Activity Log & Security Monitor 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Siteward — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓2 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.