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

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 “appthemes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 of the top 16. 4 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

AppAd Manager shows at wp.org #4 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10+ 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 signals wp.org

Affiliates Manager 8K+ · 4.1★ (61) wp.org #1 2

Knit Pay – Cashfree, Instamojo, Razorpay, PayPal and more 2K+ · 4.9★ (100) wp.org #2 3

GoUrl Bitcoin Payment Gateway & Paid Downloads & Membership 600+ · 4.0★ (76) closure risk stale but ranked wp.org #5 2 too low 4 A Admin Bar Login 60+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Social Login 4K+ · 4.3★ (366) throws errorsnot PHP-current stale but ranked wp.org #8 3 too low 6

AppPresser – Mobile App Framework 900+ · 3.7★ (53) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 7

Good Question 90+ · 4.6★ (13) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #9 2 too low 8

GoUrl AppThemes – Bitcoin Payments for Classipress, Vantage, JobRoller, etc 10+ · 5.0★ (3) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #7 1 too high 9 A AppAd Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #4 5 too high 10 C ClassiPress Ads Importer plugin 20+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #11 1 too low 11 C ClassiPress OnlineNaira Gateway — · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 1 too high 12 P Pay2Post — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 2 too low 13 M My Sites Widget 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 2 too low 14 H Hyper Admins 10+ · 4.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 1 too high 15 M mmbrs 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #12 3 too high 16 U User Management Tools 100+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16

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.