Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “archived”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Archiveo – Importer for the Wayback Machine shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ 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

SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 816 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Archive Content with Archived Post Status 5K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #1 2 FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (336) wp.org #4 ↑6 2 too low 3 LH Archived Post Status 3K+ · 4.1★ (18) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others 10K+ · 4.8★ (193) wp.org #9 ↑2 5 too low 5 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #16 11 too low 6 Chronological Posts 1K+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 The Hack Repair Guy’s Plugin Archiver 300+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #6 ↑14 1 too high 8 ActivityPub 6K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #11 ↓7 3 too low 9 PublishPress Statuses – Custom Post Status and Workflow 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 ↑4 6 too high 10 Store Exporter – Export WooCommerce Products, Orders, Subscriptions, Customers 6K+ · 4.1★ (166) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Custom Query Blocks 700+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #12 ↓3 1 too low 12 Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14 Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer 1K+ · 3.8★ (8) wp.org #7 ↓4 7 too high 15 ArchiveMaster – Auto Archive and Export Old Orders for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too high 16 Most And Least Read Posts Widget 900+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 IMPress for IDX Broker 7K+ · 3.1★ (34) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 WP Sitemap Control 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Order Splitter for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓5 2 too low 20 Live Carts for WooCommerce: Track Active, Abandoned, and Converted Carts & Wishlists in Real Time! 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Aplitap Sidrena Cijena i Cjenik 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 MailArchiver 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Archiveo – Importer for the Wayback Machine 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓2 15 too high 24 W2S – Migrate WooCommerce to Shopify 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.