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

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 “ar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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.

Ranked above its merit

Photo Sphere Viewer – 360° Virtual Tour, Panorama, 360 Video & AR 3D Viewer shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 913 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 AR for WordPress 300+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #1 2 PausAR – 3D and AR for Elementor 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #2 3 HuCommerce | Magyar kiegészítések WooCommerce webáruházakhoz 9K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #6 ↓2 3 too low 4 SportsPress – Sports Club & League Manager 10K+ · 4.7★ (369) wp.org #12 ↓3 8 too low 5 User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913) wp.org #21 ↓1 16 too low 6 Multisite Language Switcher 3K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 F Facturare WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 3D Viewer – Turn Product Pages into Interactive 3D Experiences 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #9 ↓4 1 too low 9 AR for WooCommerce 60+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 SwiftXR (3D/AR/VR) Viewer 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Blog Filter – Post Grid Filter by Category or Tag 7K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #22 ↑2 11 too low 12 Limit Attempts by BestWebSoft – WordPress Anti-Bot and Security Plugin for Login and Forms 4K+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #19 ↑2 6 too low 14 BSS 3D Product Viewer & AR for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑6 9 too high 15 WC Korkmaz Contract – Contracts for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Openpay AR Payment Gateway 100+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑13 12 too high 17 3D viewer by Visody 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓2 7 too high 18 Moyasar 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Duplicate Title Validator 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↑3 1 too low 20 AR Back To Top 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓6 4 too high 21 Augmented Reality Viewer – 3D Model Viewer 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 10 too high 22 Photo Sphere Viewer – 360° Virtual Tour, Panorama, 360 Video & AR 3D Viewer 600+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 15 too high 23 3D Viewer – 3D Model Viewer – Augmented Reality – Virtual Try On 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓6 1 too low 24 3D/AR/VR Model Viewer for WooCommerce 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.