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

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 “anyway”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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.

A

Ranked above its merit

Automatic Cache Flusher for W3 Total Cache shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 4K+ 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.

Buried gem

Brave – Create Popup, Optins, Lead Generation, Survey, Sticky Elements & Interactive Content places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Remove "Powered by WordPress" 20K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #4 5 Albacross – B2B Website Visitor Identification 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Brave – Create Popup, Optins, Lead Generation, Survey, Sticky Elements & Interactive Content 20K+ · 4.8★ (209) wp.org #14 ↑6 8 too low 7 APCu Manager 10K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 GTM Kit – Google Tag Manager & GA4 integration 30K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Anyway Feedback 100+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #1 9 too high 11 Smart Attachment Page Remove 900+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode 60K+ · 3.7★ (45) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Paytium: Mollie payment forms & donations 2K+ · 4.5★ (64) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 WP w3all phpBB 200+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #21 ↓2 7 too low 15 YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Out of the Block: OpenStreetMap 800+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too low 17 Defer Transactional Emails for WooCommerce | Speed up the WooCommerce checkout 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 OPcache Manager 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 DecaLog 1K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Sessions 900+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #20 ↑1 21 A Automatic Cache Flusher for W3 Total Cache 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 10 too high 22 F FameTheme Demo Importer 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 Vibes 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 IP Locator 500+ · 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.