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

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 “autohide”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 9 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

peLightbox Gallery Slider – Responsive Lightbox, Slideshow, Carousel, Image & Video Gallery shows at wp.org #5 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP YouTube Lyte places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 206 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #1 2 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Wishlist for WooCommerce: Multiple Wishlists per Customer 2K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 WP YouTube Lyte 20K+ · 4.8★ (206) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Widget Responsive for Youtube 7K+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Simple Pin It Button for Pinterest 3K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 WS Custom Scrollbar 80+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Simple Ebook Viewer 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 D Dewdrop Custom Scrollbar 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 Scrollbar Designer 90+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 peLightbox Gallery Slider – Responsive Lightbox, Slideshow, Carousel, Image & Video Gallery 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Note – A live edit text widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 F Fluid Player 400+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Y YouList – YouTube playlist shortcode 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 Flexible Refund for WooCommerce – EU One Click Return 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too high 18 WP Theater 100+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 PDF Rack – 3D Flipbook, PDF Viewer & Embed PDF 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 MyScrollBar 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 E EIT Custom Scrollbar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 P Post Reading Progress 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 Y YAAM – YouTube Autoplay And Mute 60+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Next Event Calendar 50+ · 2.0★ (4) 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.