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

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 “asked”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Heroic Table of Contents shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Accordion FAQ – Compatible With All Page Builder (Elementor, Gutenberg) places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 676 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Nextend Social Login and Register 200K+ · 4.9★ (446) wp.org #1 2 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #2 3 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #9 ↑8 2 too low 8 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #8 ↑2 9 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 Plugin Notes Plus 9K+ · 5.0★ (62) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Accordion FAQ – Compatible With All Page Builder (Elementor, Gutenberg) 30K+ · 4.6★ (676) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #10 ↑4 4 too high 15 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Freesoul Deactivate Plugins – Disable plugins on individual WordPress pages 8K+ · 4.8★ (104) wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 Cash On Pickup for WooCommerce 7K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Heroic Table of Contents 5K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 AlphaListing 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↓4 10 too high 24 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #21 3 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.