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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “chart.js”

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 “chart.js”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Email Gated Downloads shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100+ 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

Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 284 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #1 2 Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (430) wp.org #2 3 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 M Chart 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #5 6 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Easy Google Adsense and Banner Ads Manager – AdsforWP 1K+ · 4.6★ (43) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 WSMS (formerly WP SMS): SMS and OTP for WordPress and WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.1★ (107) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Photo Gallery – Image, Video & Portfolio 1K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 TrueRanker 300+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Ever Accounting – Accounting & Invoicing Solution for Small Businesses 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Bot Traffic Shield – Block Bad Bots and Stop AI Bots Crawlers 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Pixel Gallery Addons for Elementor 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 AntiSpam for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Advanced Age Verification Popup 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Odyssey LLMS 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 AI Chatbot, Live Chat & Lead Generation for WordPress 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Email Gated Downloads 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 WPC Request a Quote for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 WP Adsterra Dashboard 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 WEDOS | Protection & Cache Performance 300+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Nasio Blocks 400+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.