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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “blob storage”

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 “blob storage”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

SimplePDF Embed shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LiteSpeed Cache places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 2778 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Microsoft Azure Storage for WordPress 2K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #9 ↑4 3 too low 7 Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 File Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (202) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #24 ↓4 15 too low 10 HT Mega Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets & Template Builder 60K+ · 4.1★ (66) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 Membership For WooCommerce 800+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Infinite Uploads – Offload, Optimize & Organize Your Media Library 800+ · 4.4★ (20) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too high 13 bunny.net – WordPress CDN Plugin 10K+ · 3.1★ (22) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Native PHP Sessions 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too low 15 DesignSetGo 8K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 too high 16 DoLogin Security 7K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too low 17 PressedMail – Email Client, Inbox & Webmail 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 atec Backup 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓4 4 too low 19 Gallery for Google Photos – share your albums right on your site 1K+ · 2.7★ (6) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too high 20 DiluxOne Offload – Media Storage — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 SBR Simple Backup & Restore 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 Libration Accessibility Widget, Checker and Real Code Fixes – WCAG and EAA 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Weblix Analytics – Real-Time Stats & Visitor Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 SimplePDF Embed 80+ · 2.0★ (1) wp.org #10 14 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.