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

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 “blood”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 2 of the top 19. 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.

Buried gem

W3 Total Cache places #1 on merit, 4.4★ from 5420 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #8 ↓2 7 too low 2 IDonate – Blood Donation, Request And Donor Management System 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Obydullah Blood Bank Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 4 Vampire Character Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 SugarCalc — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 6 Smart Forms & Calculators By Embed Sheets 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Sajeebit ID Card Generator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Be POPIA Compliant 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9 CardPrices.io Card Links — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Katalys Shops Addon: Merchant Bridge 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too high 11 GeneaCanvas GEDCOM Family Tree 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12 CNX Medical Lite – Clinic EHR & Appointments — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓2 13 FireEMS Stats 10+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too low 14 InResRisk Calculators – WHtR, BRI & Health Calculators — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 1 too high 15 Learny LMS 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓2 16 ResQ — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 User Register Filter 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 18 P Plot Over Time – Extended 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 Q qTwit (for WordPress) 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2

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.