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

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 “cat”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

No Category Parents shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 5333 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Quiz Cat – WordPress Quiz Plugin 4K+ · 4.7★ (35) wp.org #1 2 Pixel Cat – Conversion Pixel Manager 40K+ · 4.0★ (41) wp.org #2 3 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #16 ↓4 13 too low 4 Forms for Mailchimp by Optin Cat – Grow Your MailChimp List 2K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too low 6 List categories 5K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #6 7 Landing Page Cat – Coming Soon & Maintenance Pages 600+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 GetResponse Forms by Optin Cat 1K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Multibanco, MB WAY, Credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Payshop, and PIX (ifthenpay) for WooCommerce 8K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #10 ↑3 11 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 AWeber Forms by Optin Cat 300+ · 3.7★ (18) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Maximum, Minimum and Multiple Quantity for WooCommerce Shops 3K+ · 4.4★ (36) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Block Manager 4K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 Free WooCommerce Products Slider/Carousel Pro 2K+ · 4.7★ (17) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 CodePeople Post Map for Google Maps 3K+ · 4.2★ (31) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Press This 5K+ · 3.7★ (25) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 No Category Parents 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 GravityWP – CSS Selector 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Campaign Monitor Forms by Optin Cat 200+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 Filter for Elementor 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Search & Replace Everything by WPCode – Find and Replace Media, Text, Links, and More 20K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 cookie-cat 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Cheshire Cat Chatbot 100+ · 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.