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

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 “alternate”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Easy Image Alternate Text shows at wp.org #3 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 21 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.3★ from 115 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #2 ↑4 1 too low 2 Hreflang Manager – Hreflang Implementation for International SEO 8K+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too low 5 XPoster – Share to Bluesky and Mastodon 10K+ · 3.8★ (69) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Options for Twenty Twenty-One 6K+ · 4.9★ (64) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too low 7 Vertical Timeline Widget for Elementor 10K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin 20K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #18 ↑1 10 too low 9 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #8 ↓6 1 too high 10 Options for Twenty Twenty 3K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 Replace Broken Images 1K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #4 ↑1 7 too high 12 Contextual Adminbar Color 500+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 SiteNarrator Text-to-Speech Widget 800+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 WPSSO WP Sitemaps XML with News, Image, and Video Sitemap 400+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #6 ↑1 8 too high 15 Front Page Scheduler 200+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 LLM Markdown – Markdown Endpoints for AI Agents 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓4 6 too low 17 Logged In As 200+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 PublishPress Statuses – Custom Post Status and Workflow 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 Collapse Magic 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 Mescio for Agents 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓4 5 too high 21 WPSSO Schema Organization and Place Manager 300+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Logo Per Page 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Classic Blog Grid 3K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓3 3 too high 24 Easy Image Alternate Text 80+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #3 21 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.