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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bbpress 2.0”

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 “bbpress 2.0”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20.

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

LearnPress – bbPress Integration shows at wp.org #4 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn places #7 on merit, 4.4★ from 273 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 forumAttachments for bbPress 6K+ · 4.3★ (26) wp.org #1 2 bbPress Notify (No-Spam) 2K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #2 3 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1472) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher 10K+ · 4.8★ (514) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Enlighter – Customizable Syntax Highlighter 10K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 B bbP topic count 300+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 B bbp user ranking 200+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Pastacode 400+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 forumManager for bbPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 LearnPress – Backup & Migration Tool 5K+ · 3.0★ (16) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Prosopo Procaptcha 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 B bbP Signature 100+ · 2.7★ (6) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 B BP Simple Private 400+ · 3.9★ (11) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Accessibility Enabler 300+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 LearnPress – Course Wishlist 10K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Zen Addons for SiteOrigin Page Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 LearnPress – Prerequisites Courses 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 membersDirectory for bbPress 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 LearnPress – bbPress Integration 2K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #4 20 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.