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

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 “alliance”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Wysistat shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 30+ 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

Manage Notification E-mails places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 56 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Term Management Tools 10K+ · 4.9★ (76) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 G Google Tag Manager 10K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Manage Notification E-mails 100K+ · 4.8★ (56) wp.org #15 12 too low 4

Reusable Blocks Extended 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #17 13 too low 5

Socicon 200+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #4 1 too high 6

CleverReach® WP 4K+ · 3.0★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 3 too high 7

Vietnam Checkout for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #20 13 too low 8

Official CleverReach® Plugin for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.3★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #5 3 too high 9

Injection Guard 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #21 11 too low 11

Bye Bye Passwords 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #6 5 too high 12

ShipperHQ: Shipping & Checkout Experience Solution 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #8 4 too high 13

Passwordless X1280 — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #9 4 too high 14

ESO Hub 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #7 7 too high 15

Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 1 too low 16

LeSEP – 多合一搜索引擎提交插件 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #11 5 too high 17

ImReso: Unlimited Target-Size Image Compressor 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #12 5 too high 18

UCA Payment Gateway with WayForPay for GiveWP — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 5 too high 19

Tempaloo WebP — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #14 5 too high 20

Wysistat 30+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #10 10 too high 21

Vacancy Scraper UA — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #18 3 too high 22

Swipe for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #24 2 too low 23

rapidmail: Newsletter & E-Mail Marketing for WooCommerce 400+ · 2.3★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #23 24

Content Sidebars 10+ · 2.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #22 2 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.