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← Rankings

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

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 “blue”, 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

Plugin BlueX for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Maps Widget for Google Maps places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 512 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 B Blue Captcha 400+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #1 2 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #2 3 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #4 ↑4 1 too low 4 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #8 ↑3 4 too low 5 Search & Replace Everything – Quick and Easy Way to Find and Replace Text, Links 20K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too low 6 Markup by Attribute for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #6 ↓2 7 Show Pages IDs 10K+ · 5.0★ (103) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 WPAdverts – Classifieds Plugin 4K+ · 4.8★ (160) wp.org #11 ↓5 3 too low 9 Simple Shopping Cart 10K+ · 4.6★ (215) wp.org #15 ↑3 6 too low 10 AddQuicktag 100K+ · 4.7★ (44) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 Maps Widget for Google Maps 20K+ · 4.6★ (512) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 Autopay dla WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #3 ↓1 9 too high 13 Back To The Top Button 4K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 Genial Comments 4K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Free WooCommerce Products Slider/Carousel Pro 2K+ · 4.7★ (17) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Message Bridge for Contact Form 7 and Telegram 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) wp.org #17 ↓5 1 too low 17 Filter for Elementor 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 Dynamic AJAX Product Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 Mobile Contact Line 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Media Library Downloader 5K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Default Attributes for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too low 22 Gravity Forms Light Blue API Add-On 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓2 13 too high 23 Autopay 3K+ · 2.1★ (7) wp.org #12 ↓2 11 too high 24 Plugin BlueX for WooCommerce 2K+ · 1.7★ (3) wp.org #5 ↓2 19 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.