wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bug fixing”

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 “bug fixing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

WPB Image Widget shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple Custom Post Order places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 588 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #1 2

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Barion Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #2 1 too high 4

301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5

Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #11 ↓4 6 too low 6

Quill Forms | Conversational Multi Step Forms, Surveys & quizzes 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #6 7

Hyyan Integration for WooCommerce and Polylang 8K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #17 9 too low 9

PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #14 5 too low 10

Quick View for WooCommerce – Reno QuickView 2K+ · 4.8★ (31) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11

OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #18 7 too low 12

DebugPress: Debugger in Popup 100+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #4 8 too high 13

FakerPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (205) wp.org #22 9 too low 14

Htaccess File Editor – Safely Edit Htaccess File 40K+ · 5.0★ (102) wp.org #19 5 too low 15

SQLite Object Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #16 1 too low 16

PDF.js Viewer 20K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #13 3 too high 17

Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #23 ↑1 6 too low 18

Thim Kit for Elementor – Pre-built Templates & Widgets for Elementor 20K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #5 13 too high 19

SAR Friendly SMTP 2K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #20 1 too low 20

Spam Destroyer 5K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #24 4 too low 21

Invoicing with InvoiceXpress for WooCommerce – Free 100+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #21 22

Pods Alternative Cache 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #12 10 too high 23

WPB Widgets Accordion for WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #15 8 too high 24

WPB Image Widget 100+ · 4.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑1 16 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.