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

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 “arena”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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 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

Arena – Group Chat for Real-Time Engagement shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 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 wp.org
1 Event Tickets with Ticket Scanner 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 weForms – Easy Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder For WordPress 10K+ · 4.5★ (111) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Bukza 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Arena.IM – Live Blogging for real-time events 100+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 M Magic the Gathering Card Tooltips 100+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 AnWP Sports Leagues – Basketball, Ice Hockey, Handball, Rugby & More 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 PicPoints – Interactive Image Map & Hotspot Builder 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Forum_wordpress_fr 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓1 15 too low 9 Gaming-Plus Game Server Status 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑2 3 too high 10 Arena Scheduler — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Order Arena — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 12 Playard — Sports Facility Booking System for Courts, Fields, Pitches, Venues and More 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 Tikket Events & Check-In 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 CardPrices.io Card Links — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 Futsal Studio – Futsal League, Tournament & Club Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 LaunchWP 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Listing & Smart Shopping Campaign for Google 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 Subscribers & Members Based Pricing 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 SeatLayer Seating Charts — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Microbite Business Schema 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Guild Roster Importer for WoW — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Live Data Display 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Arena – Group Chat for Real-Time Engagement 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 C Custom Job Fields for WP Job Manager 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.