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

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 “ark”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 19. 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

Gaming-Plus Game Server Status shows at wp.org #6 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 20+ 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

ARK HideCommentLinks 100+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #1 2

Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Ark Vision AI Widget 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Ai Auto Tool Content Writing Assistant All in One 40+ · 4.1★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #17 11 too low 7

CryptocurrencyCheckout Woocommerce Gateway 100+ · 3.5★ (8) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 6 too low 8

JennyStudio GEO Factory 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #5 3 too high 9

AIKCT Engine Chatbot 10+ · 3.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #7 2 too high 10

Gaming-Plus Game Server Status 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #6 4 too high 11 A ARCA del Mar Caribe — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #8 3 too high 12

Borges Bibliography Builder 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #9 3 too high 13

LangRouter for TranslatePress — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #10 3 too high 14

AumViso – llms.txt, Schema & Sitemaps for AI Search & SEO — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #11 3 too high 15

List2Play Servers 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #12 3 too high 16

Quark AgentFlow AI – Multi-Agent Chatbot & Automated Workflows — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #14 2 too high 17

ARKCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too low 18

TrackingMore Order Tracking for WooCommerce (Free plan available) 600+ · 4.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 3 too high 19

Kripto Para Dönüştürücü ve Döviz Hesaplama 40+ · 3.5★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #19

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.