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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “author notification”

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 “author notification”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20.

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

WP Comment Notification shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 400+ 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

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Manage Notification E-mails 100K+ · 4.8★ (56) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #4 5 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #16 11 too low 6 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #18 12 too low 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #19 12 too low 8 Comment Reply Email Notification 3K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 WP Telegram (Auto Post and Notifications) 30K+ · 5.0★ (426) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Simple Login Notification 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 ( (Simply) Guest Author Name 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 WP Notification Bell 700+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Push Notifications for WP – Self Hosted Web Push Notifications 6K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 New Order Notification for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Publish Post Email Notification 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 Comment Moderation/Notification Recipients 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Default Post Author 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 11 too high 20 Email Notification on Login 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Kaya Login Notification 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 WP Comment Notification 400+ · 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.