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← Rankings

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

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 “badge”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 6 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

DMCA Website Protection Badge shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.2★ average from 19 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Product Labels For Woocommerce (Sale Badges) 10K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #1 ↑5 1 too high 3 Points Management System For Gamification, Ranks, Badges, and Loyalty Rewards Program – myCred 10K+ · 4.6★ (472) wp.org #5 ↓4 2 too low 4 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too low 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #15 ↓1 10 too low 6 GamiPress – Gamification plugin to reward points, badges & ranks in WordPress, now with AI 10K+ · 4.9★ (493) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Advanced Woo Labels – Product Labels & Badges for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (64) wp.org #7 ↓2 8 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #21 ↓2 13 too low 9 Product Badge, Label, Countdown Timer for WooCommerce – Sale Booster 5K+ · 4.8★ (30) wp.org #6 ↓2 3 too high 10 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #20 ↑2 10 too low 11 Better Badge – Custom Product Badges for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 WPC Badge Management for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #3 ↓1 10 too high 14 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create Loyalty Programs, Reward Customer Purchases, Referral Points, User Badges, and Gamification 6K+ · 4.5★ (180) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 YITH WooCommerce Badge Management 10K+ · 2.9★ (93) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Product Badges For WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 TrustedSite 10K+ · 4.2★ (26) wp.org #22 ↓5 4 too low 19 DMCA Website Protection Badge 1K+ · 3.2★ (19) wp.org #8 ↓1 11 too high 20 Free Shipping Badge 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 Coming Soon Badges for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓3 7 too high 22 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓3 1 too low 23 Badges Woo 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 Trustami Badge for Customer Reviews and Google Stars 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓4 5 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.