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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “catch ids”

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 “catch ids”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Catch Themes Demo Import shows at wp.org #4 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 591 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Catch IDs 20K+ · 4.8★ (20) 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 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #7 ↑6 4 too low 4 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) wp.org #13 ↑6 9 too low 5 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #15 10 too low 6 Catch Web Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 WPC Product Bundles for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (220) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 N Newpost Catch 9K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 Custom Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Embedder for Google Reviews 6K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #19 ↑5 3 too low 17 SNORDIAN's H5PxAPIkatchu 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 18 CheckView – Form & Checkout Testing 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 Affiliate Links – Link Cloaking and Management 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Catch Popup 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Traffic Monitor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too high 23 ATmosphere 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓5 24 Catch Themes Demo Import 5K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #4 20 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.