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

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 “anmeldung”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

rapidmail: Newsletter & E-Mail Marketing for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #3 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall places #2 on merit, 4.7★ from 101 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.

How this rank is calculated

Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.

A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.

A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.

Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Webling 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #13 ↑1 11 too low 3 Dr. Flex 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 WP2LEADS | WordPress und KlickTipp einfach verbinden – WooCommerce und KlickTipp einfach verbinden 70+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #15 11 too low 5 Worthy – VG WORT Integration für WordPress 1K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #16 ↓1 11 too low 6 VereinOnline.org 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Bastora Security Audit 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Microtango 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 rapidmail: Newsletter & E-Mail Marketing for WooCommerce 400+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 L lgv-anmeldesystem 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 SpendeOnline.org 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Javis Seminar- und Veranstaltungsmanagement 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Justin Legal — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 WebsiteFix One-Click Performance Optimizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Only Members Access — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Nachrichten — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 Loesungswerk Event RSVP QR — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Tebuto – Online-Terminbuchung — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 L Login Redirect Url 70+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 E-Newsletter Plugin für PROFFIX 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 S Semtoo — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 B Backend Startpage Customizer 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 T Thekendienst 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.