Plugin Pulse
← Rankings

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

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 “blogroll”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 2 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

[CR]Paid Link Manager shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10+ 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

Broken Link Checker places #5 on merit, 3.8★ from 605 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Blogroll Block 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Eazy Enable Blogroll 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #15 10 too low 6 B Blogroll Links 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 VS Link Manager 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Link View 700+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #21 13 too low 9 Friends 900+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Blogroll Links Renderer 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 xili-language 600+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 B Blogroll & Podroll Block 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Forward: Blogroll — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 R RSS Feed Checker 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 PictureBook 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 W Webring Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 BookMaster — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 SB Random Posts Widget 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 [ [CR]Paid Link Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Link Extension for XFN — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Analytical Spam Filter 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 B Bookmarks Shortcode 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 OPML Importer 3K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Vampire Character Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.