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

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 “carbon”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

WooCommerce Shipping shows at wp.org #4 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 58 reviews, but shows at wp.org #7. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #1 2 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #2 3 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Contact Form X 300+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Gelato Integration for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #5 6 Carbon Copy 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↑1 3 too high 7 Contact Coldform 200+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Sendle Shipping Plugin 700+ · 3.2★ (9) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Live Shipping Rates Australia for woocommerce – Get real-time shipping rates for your store 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Website Carbon Calculator 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Code Snippet DM 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓2 9 too low 12 WooCommerce Shipping 70K+ · 2.0★ (18) wp.org #4 ↓1 8 too high 13 Donation or Tip For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 exovia YouTube DSGVO 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 BCC All Emails 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Send Emails — Newsletters, Automation & Email Marketing for WordPress 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 Lwakit Carbon Footprint Tracker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Carbonfooter 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Carbon Based AJAX Add to Cart — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 Carbon Based Email Customizer for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 GreenTrace Carbon Rating Badge and Reports — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 GreenMetrics – Website Carbon Footprint, Sustainability & Performance Metrics 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Deny All Firewall 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.