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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cc rel”

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 “cc rel”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 19. 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.

J

Ranked above its merit

JTZL's Bot Maze shows at wp.org #8 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #4 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 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 Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WP Offload SES Lite 10K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #3 4 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 Embeds for YouTube 9K+ · 4.2★ (24) wp.org #5 6 GSlider Blocks 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Minimal Share Buttons 100+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 WC Entity Mapper 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Rootz AI Discovery 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 J JTZL's Bot Maze 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Ultimate Classified Listings – Classifieds, Directory & Marketplace 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 QAS Domain Checker – WHOIS RDAP — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 G GeistM Adnet — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Smart Social Media Buttons 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Antradus AI Lite — AI SEO Content Writer & Image Creator — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 WT Catalog 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 C Creative Commons Media Tagger 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19

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.