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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “auto save”

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 “auto save”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Smart Auto Upload Images – Import External Images shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 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 Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 40K+ · 3.8★ (119) wp.org #1 2 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Auto Upload Images 20K+ · 4.3★ (106) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #14 ↓5 9 too low 6 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #17 ↓3 11 too low 7 Easy Auto SKU Generator for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (272) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Auto Image Attributes From Filename With Bulk Updater (Add Alt Text, Image Title For Image SEO) 100K+ · 4.8★ (93) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Auto Coupons for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 too high 12 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Save & Go 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 ↑1 9 too high 14 Auto Affiliate Links 2K+ · 4.1★ (39) wp.org #10 ↑11 4 too high 15 Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too high 16 Auto Alt Text 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Auto Submenu 2K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #9 ↑1 9 too high 19 NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Smart Auto Upload Images – Import External Images 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 SNY Auto Featured Image 1K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Auto Focus Keyword for SEO 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Easy Auto Reload – Auto Refresh 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓2 10 too high 24 Auto Block Recovery 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 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.