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

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 “birthday”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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

Wbcom Designs – Birthday Widget for BuddyPress shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AcyMailing – An Ultimate Newsletter Plugin and Marketing Automation Solution for WordPress places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 157 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #6 5 too low 2

BP Birthday Greetings 200+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 2 too low 4

Connect Contact Form 7 to Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite, Klaviyo, GetResponse, EmailOctopus, Campaign Monitor & Moosend 40K+ · 4.3★ (190) wp.org #8 4 too low 5

Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 2 too low 6

Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly 60K+ · 4.4★ (586) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 too low 7

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #11 4 too low 8

AcyMailing – An Ultimate Newsletter Plugin and Marketing Automation Solution for WordPress 5K+ · 4.8★ (157) wp.org #19 ↓1 11 too low 9

Birthday For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #2 7 too high 10

YITH WooCommerce Wishlist 400K+ · 3.9★ (262) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 ↓1 11

WP Frontend Delete Account 4K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12

Loyalty Points Rewards and Referral for WooCommerce – WPLoyalty 3K+ · 5.0★ (310) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13

Mailmunch Forms for Mailchimp 10K+ · 4.6★ (372) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14

Email Template Designer – WP HTML Mail 20K+ · 4.8★ (87) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15

Gift Wrapper for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (52) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too high 16

Users Birthday Email 90+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #4 12 too high 17

Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create Loyalty Programs, Reward Customer Purchases, Referral Points, User Badges, and Gamification 6K+ · 4.5★ (180) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 7 too low 18

Gratisfaction- Contests Giveaways Referral Loyalty Rewards and Birthdays Program 20+ · 5.0★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19

Newsletters, Email Marketing, SMS and Popups by Omnisend 100K+ · 4.8★ (17) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20

eCards Lite – Christmas, Birthday & Thank-You E-Cards 100+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 11 too high 21

NM Gift Registry and Wishlist Lite 200+ · 4.9★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22

Wbcom Designs – Birthday Widget for BuddyPress 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #3 19 too high 23

Mailster WordPress Newsletter Plugin 7K+ · 3.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #13 10 too high 24

Simple Points and Rewards for WooCommerce – Create a Loyalty Program 400+ · 5.0★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.