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

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 “bg”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

BG Couriers for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #2 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits places #6 on merit, 4.5★ from 212 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Really Simple CAPTCHA 300K+ · 4.2★ (131) wp.org #1 2 Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Coming soon and Maintenance mode 8K+ · 4.2★ (83) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 Currency Converter Calculator 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212) wp.org #22 16 too low 7 Simple Ebook Viewer 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Events Search & Filter Bar for The Events Calendar 3K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9 Datafeedr WooCommerce Importer 4K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 BG Couriers for WooCommerce 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 ↑3 8 too high 11 Paysera Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 7K+ · 2.9★ (16) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Zeffy Donate Button 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Jamie's Visual HTML Editor 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Logo Showcase – Logo Slider, Carousel & Sponsors Gallery 900+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Nekorekten.com – Official 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 Speedy And Econt Shipping 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Weaver Show Sliders 900+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 GS WooCommerce Product Slider, Product Carousel, Grid, Ticker, List & Masonry 300+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Code Snippet DM 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Scoremer: Football Livescore, Tables and Fixtures 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Post Sliders 200+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Altonet Animated BG 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Read More Button – Expand Content Without Refresh 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Advanced Gallery & Repeater Fields for ACF 700+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.