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

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 “apa”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

EEAT WP shows at wp.org #12 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 100+ 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

Zotpress places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 66 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #1 2 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #2 3 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Footnotes Made Easy 2K+ · 4.6★ (40) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 OGEEAT 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Zotpress 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #21 ↓1 15 too low 7 AgenWebsite Shipping – Plugin Ongkos Kirim & Generate Resi Otomatis Semua Kurir Indonesia 600+ · 4.6★ (49) wp.org #22 ↓1 15 too low 8 Reference Manager for WordPress with Footnotes, Citations, Bibliographies, Tooltips and Glossary 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too high 9 Email Notification on Login 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #23 ↓1 14 too low 10 CitePress – Automatic Citation Generator 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 JNE Shipping – Plugin Ongkos Kirim Resmi Untuk WooCommerce 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 TheLaTeXLab – Citations & Bibliography 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 Capitalize My Title WordPress Plugin 90+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 External Links to Footnotes 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑3 3 too high 15 Cite This Article – Author Box & Citation 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Borges Bibliography Builder 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑4 2 too high 17 TOCguide — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 EEAT WP 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too high 19 DiFlowRin Bibliography Checker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 WebKew WP References and Citations 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Smitacs POS Invoice — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 BigID Consent Management Platform — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 Capitalize Titles and Headings 70+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 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.