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

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 “black”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191) wp.org #1 2 Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #2 3 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #11 ↓3 5 too low 7 Really Simple CAPTCHA 300K+ · 4.2★ (131) wp.org #7 8 Black Bar 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #8 ↑3 1 too high 10 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170) wp.org #14 ↑7 3 too low 12 M Mesmerize Companion 50K+ · 4.4★ (51) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce – BOGO, Store Credit & WooCommerce Coupons 20K+ · 4.4★ (184) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Fourteen Colors 8K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #22 ↓2 7 too low 16 Pricing Table by Supsystic – Responsive Pricing Plans & Comparison Tables 10K+ · 4.1★ (288) wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17 Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (248) wp.org #17 18 Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too low 19 M Materialis Companion 6K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Product Labels For Woocommerce (Sale Badges) 10K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 SOGO Accessibility 5K+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.5★ (6) wp.org #5 17 too high 23 YITH WooCommerce Badge Management 10K+ · 2.9★ (93) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Default Attributes for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓3 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.