Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bb notification”

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 “bb notification”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 17. 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Wbcom Designs – BuddyPress Group Reviews shows at wp.org #6 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

hCaptcha for WP places #5 on merit, 4.6★ from 88 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 PowerPack Lite for Beaver Builder 6K+ · 5.0★ (243) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too low 2 Alerts for Beaver Builder 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 bbPress Voting 400+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Lewe ChordPress – ChordPro Text Formatter 100+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Pix for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 360 Javascript Viewer 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Assistant – Every Day Productivity Apps 4K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Wbcom Designs – BuddyPress Activity Social Share 400+ · 4.2★ (19) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10 Brilliant Web-to-Lead for Salesforce 2K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 Wbcom Designs – Shortcodes & Elementor Widgets For BuddyPress 600+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #11 ↑2 12 Todo for BuddyPress & BuddyBoss 100+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Wbcom Designs – BuddyPress Group Reviews 70+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #6 ↑2 7 too high 14 G Group Forum Subscripton for BuddyPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 DigitalPUSH notifications 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too high 16 F Forum Post Notification 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 PushAll 10+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 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.