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

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 “center”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 6 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

Merchant Center Reviews for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 800+ 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

WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1138 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #3 ↑3 2 too low 2 WPS Notice Center 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 XML for Google Merchant Center 3K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #14 9 too low 6 WPMR Google Feed Manager for WooCommerce – Sell on Google Merchant Center & Shopping 10K+ · 4.5★ (127) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Hide admin notices – Admin Notification Center 7K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too high 8 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #16 ↓5 6 too low 11 Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly 60K+ · 4.4★ (586) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #23 ↓2 11 too low 13 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – RexFeed – Sell on 200+ Shopping Channels 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #13 ↑2 14 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #24 ↓7 9 too low 16 Happy FAQs – FAQ, Product FAQ & Help Center 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #18 19 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too low 20 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Merchant Center Reviews for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 17 too high 22 Documentation – Build a Knowledge Base, Help Center or Wiki 100+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 Post Label Center (PLC) Manager for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 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.