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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bookmarks menu”

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 “bookmarks menu”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 3 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

Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 34 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Youzify – BuddyPress Community, User Profile, Social Network & Membership Plugin for WordPress places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 194 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin Bookmarks 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #1 2 WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 CBX Bookmark & Favorite 1K+ · 4.6★ (49) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 MoreConvert Wishlist for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Youzify – BuddyPress Community, User Profile, Social Network & Membership Plugin for WordPress 5K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Favorites 10K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #4 9 too high 14 PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page 20K+ · 4.5★ (149) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 WP Crowdfunding 2K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Webmention 900+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Admin login URL Change 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Safelayout Elegant Icons – WordPress icons 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Users Registration Date – Sortable Users Column 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 SureDash – Community, Courses & Member Dashboard 1K+ · 4.3★ (23) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Multicons 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Sticky Buttons – Floating Buttons Builder 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Taxonomy Query Filter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.