Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “associated press”

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 “associated press”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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 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

Smart Image Gallery shows at wp.org #4 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Fluid Checkout for WooCommerce – Lite places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 159 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Search in Place 3K+ · 4.9★ (64) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 CodePeople Post Map for Google Maps 3K+ · 4.2★ (31) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 RPS Include Content 700+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Fluid Checkout for WooCommerce – Lite 20K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #17 ↓2 13 too low 5 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Tansa 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 Seraphinite Post .DOCX Source 800+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 WowShipping – Table Rate & Weight Based Shipping 700+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #9 10 Donorbox – Free Recurring Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 8K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 CP Related Posts 100+ · 3.4★ (10) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 European VAT Compliance Assistant for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #20 ↓2 8 too low 13 Data Source for Contact Form 7 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too low 14 Add to Home Screen & Progressive Web App 1K+ · 3.7★ (25) wp.org #19 ↓2 5 too low 15 Integration of Icecat Live 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 CoinGate for WooCommerce 400+ · 3.5★ (17) wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17 SamedayCourier Shipping 4K+ · 2.7★ (14) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 DevDome Malware Scanner – WordPress Malware Removal & Security Scanner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑3 5 too high 19 IRM Newsroom 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓4 4 too high 20 DevDome Bot Protection: Bot Blocker and AI Crawler Control 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too high 21 Negarandeh 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 22 Shadow Terms 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓3 23 CP Image Store with Slideshow 10+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 Smart Image Gallery 100+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #4 20 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.