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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “broken shortcodes”

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 “broken shortcodes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

WP Spell Check shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.9★ average from 39 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library places #3 on merit, 4.6★ from 779 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #10 7 too low 4 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Broken Link Notifier 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Hide Broken Shortcodes 400+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Arconix Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #16 ↑4 6 too low 11 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too low 13 Snippet Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 too high 14 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #15 16 Dynamic Widgets 10K+ · 4.7★ (109) wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (150) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Document Gallery 8K+ · 4.8★ (112) wp.org #19 20 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 WP Spell Check 2K+ · 2.9★ (39) wp.org #9 ↑2 12 too high 22 Interact Quiz & Form Embed 3K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 Video Popup – Youtube, Vimeo, Gutenberg, Shortcode, Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 Shortcodes Analyzer 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.