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

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 year shortcode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Dynamic Copyright Year Customizer shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200+ 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

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #1 2 Auto Upload Images 20K+ · 4.3★ (106) wp.org #2 3 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #3 4 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Snippet Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Revive Social – Social Media Auto Post and Scheduling Automation Plugin 20K+ · 4.0★ (556) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #18 19 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 AADMY – Add Auto Date Month Year Into Posts 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Smart Copyright Year (Lite) – Auto Current Year Updater Shortcode 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Dynamic Copyright Year Customizer 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 AFB – Auto Form Builder: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Multi-Step Forms, Conditional Logic & AI 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.