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← Rankings

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

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 “analog”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 3 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

Connections Business Directory Local Time shows at wp.org #15 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #1 2 CoolClock 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #2 3 World Clocks 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #3 4 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 L Live Clock Widget 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 IP2Location World Clock 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 7 Admin Toolbar Live Clock 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Local Time Clock 1K+ · 3.1★ (10) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 PlexBlocks – Business Hours for Block Editor 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Plugtuner Radio Player 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too high 11 Time.now Clock Widget 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 Awesomesauce Blocks 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Currency.Wiki World Clock – Time Zones & Clock Widget — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 AI Featured Image 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Ezhance – Product Discounts, Bulk Pricing and Safety Score for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 S Sweet Sharmin Preloader — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Keryx Signage — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 T The Studio Player — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Universal Clocks 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Connections Business Directory Local Time 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 22 Dashboard Clock 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 23 World Clock 100+ · 1.7★ (3) wp.org #20 3 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.