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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “avoid duplicate”

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 “avoid duplicate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 2 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

BoldGrid Easy SEO – Simple and Effective SEO shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #3 on merit, 5.0★ from 1525 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 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #1 2 ActivityPub 6K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #18 15 too low 4 The Off Switch (formerly WP Avoid Slow) 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Duplicate Title Validator 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #19 13 too low 7 Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Advanced AJAX Product Filters 50K+ · 4.7★ (387) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 NS Cloner – Site Cloner and Multisite Duplicator 6K+ · 4.7★ (279) wp.org #21 11 too low 11 Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 LWS Cleaner 20K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Kansleri Cookie Consent 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Import WP – CSV & XML Import Export for WordPress 4K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Search & Replace Everything by WPCode – Find and Replace Media, Text, Links, and More 20K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Advance Canonical URL 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Duplicate and Auto Draft Cleaner 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Duplicate All – Posts & Pages 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 GF No Duplicates 600+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 23 BoldGrid Easy SEO – Simple and Effective SEO 40K+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #7 16 too high 24 Category Description for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.