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

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 “ats”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 6 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

MetaBox Fulfillment shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

EazyDocs – AI Powered Knowledge Base, Wiki, Documentation & FAQ Builder places #3 on merit, 4.7★ from 100 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Go Fetch Jobs (for WP Job Manager) 600+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 ats privacy policy 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 EazyDocs – AI Powered Knowledge Base, Wiki, Documentation & FAQ Builder 2K+ · 4.7★ (100) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too low 4 Advanced Accordion Gutenberg Block – Create Beautiful FAQs, Content Accordions & Interactive Tabs 9K+ · 4.1★ (34) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Forumax – AI Powered Advanced Community Forum Plugin 500+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Utánvét Ellenőr 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 widget text class ats 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Spider Elements – Premium Elementor Widgets & Addons Library 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 OTYS Plugin 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 WP CV Builder 30+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too high 11 WPMMCC ATS — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 ATS Moknah – Text to Speech, AI Voice & Audio Player — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 13 Workeera – AI Job Board with Applicant Tracking System (ATS) — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 Tamago-DB Job board 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 15 Matador Jobs Lite 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Debut Jobs — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Rezicraft – Professional Resume & CV Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 I Inesta Gravity Forms Recruitee Integration — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 CMAA Recruit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Post2Hire Job Board & Applications — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Job Board by ejobsitesoftware 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Hiremium Smart Applicants Screening — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 MetaBox Fulfillment 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Vakanssi: Careers Page, Hiring & Applicant Tracking — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.