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

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 “america”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

KOMOJU Payments 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 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

YayCurrency – WooCommerce Multi-Currency Switcher places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 114 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #1 2 Mailgun for WordPress 80K+ · 3.8★ (49) wp.org #2 3 Payment Gateway for PayPal on WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (73) wp.org #3 4 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WSMS (formerly WP SMS): SMS and OTP for WordPress and WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.1★ (107) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 YayCurrency – WooCommerce Multi-Currency Switcher 7K+ · 4.8★ (114) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Timed Content 5K+ · 4.6★ (41) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 Flat Rate Shipping Method for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (76) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Bible Verse of the Day 3K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Theater for WordPress 600+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 Tilopay 2K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Simple Digital Clock 🕒 500+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 M MZ Mobilize America Interface 10+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 PayLexer – Payment Integration Solution for WordPress (Stripe, PayPal, Paystack, and more) 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 SimpleMaps 600+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Payssion Plugin for Woocommerce 400+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #17 ↑2 18 Bible Reading Plans 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Payment Gateway with MPGS for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Open Accessibility 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 21 KOMOJU Payments 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 Inkedjoy-POD Dropshipping 200+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #22 23 ClickShip 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 W WP Server Date Time 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.