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

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 “assignment”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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

PressPrimer Assignment – Homework Submission, Document Viewer & LMS Grading Workflows shows at wp.org #2 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 60+ 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

WP Activity Log places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 490 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 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #1 2 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 I Insert Pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 CSS & JavaScript Toolbox 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too low 11 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #21 ↓6 10 too low 12 MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Pie Register – User Registration, Profiles & Content Restriction 1K+ · 4.2★ (222) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #22 ↑2 8 too low 15 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Hyyan Integration for WooCommerce and Polylang 8K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Kadence Starter Templates — Predesigned Website Templates 200K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 PressPrimer Assignment – Homework Submission, Document Viewer & LMS Grading Workflows 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 16 too high 19 Import Export Menu 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 WP Media Category Management 6K+ · 4.7★ (35) wp.org #20 21 Mediavine Control Panel 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 Tutor LMS – Migration Tool 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Mailster Gravity Forms 800+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Kanbanz 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 13 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.