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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “allow upload”

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 “allow upload”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Upload SVG shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ 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

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 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 Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #2 ↑4 1 too low 2 File Upload Types by WPForms 40K+ · 4.0★ (20) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Definitely allow mobile zooming 7K+ · 5.0★ (54) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Big File Uploads – Increase Maximum File Upload Size 100K+ · 4.9★ (403) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 C Custom Upload Dir 5K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #22 ↓3 12 too low 11 U Upload Larger Plugins 6K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 A Allow HTML in Category Descriptions 8K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too high 14 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 Inline Image Upload for BBPress 3K+ · 4.6★ (65) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Checkout Files Upload for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Enable SVG, WebP, and ICO Upload 10K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too high 18 Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Images Optimize and Upload CF7 700+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 WP Upload Size 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 Upload SVG 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Ainbae Receipt Upload for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑4 4 too high 23 Product File Upload for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 Enable virtual card upload – vcf,vcard 7K+ · 4.0★ (4) 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.