wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “chameleon”
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 “chameleon”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 of the top 18. 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
TechGasp Tweety Master shows at wp.org #11 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Alphabetic Pagination 400+ · 4.7★ (81)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Translate and boost SEO – Automatic AI translation – wpLingua 2K+ · 4.9★ (33)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Chameleon 200+ · 3.4★ (5) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 C Content Visibility 90+ · 5.0★ (5) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #12 8 too low 5 
Lesuto Chameleon Commerce — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 
Jamie’s Header Effects 40+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
PetBridge 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #7 8 
Socrates Site Map — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #8 9 
Products Coming Soon for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #9 10 
Chameleoni Jobs 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewsstale but ranked
wp.org #6 4 too high 11 
LoryBot | Advanced AI Chatbot 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewsstale but ranked
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 C Content Visibility User Role 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 C Content Visibility Specific Users 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #14 1 too low 14 C Content Visibility Date and Time 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #15 1 too low 15 C Content Visibility Geolocation 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #16 1 too low 16 C Content Visibility RSS Feed — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 TechGasp Tweety Master 10+ · 3.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #11 6 too high 18 
Chameleon Pure CSS Accordion — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #18 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.