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

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 “chef”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

YeeMenu – Restaurant Menu for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its — installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Delicious – Recipe Plugin for Food Bloggers (formerly Delicious Recipes) 4K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #1 2 Orderable – Restaurant & Food Ordering System 5K+ · 4.6★ (40) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 EleSpare – News, Magazine and Blog Addons for Elementor 10K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 Team Builder Member Showcase 1K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 TemplateSpare – 1000+ WordPress Starter Templates & Full Site Migration Tool | 1-Click Import/Export & No-Code Builder 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Restaurant & Cafe Addon for Elementor 1K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 Events Maker by dFactory 1K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #21 14 too low 8 Business Card Block – present your team and contact info in style 1K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 CryptX 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Popular Brand Icons – Simple Icons 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Exact Match Disallowed Comment & Contact Forms 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 WPChef Employee Attendance Tracker 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too high 13 Recipe Master — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Tastoria Recipe Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 DineKit – Restaurant Menu, Online Ordering, Table Reservations & POS 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 YeeMenu – Restaurant Menu for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 Obydullah Restaurant Core — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 PC User Address Manager for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Recipes Manager – PN — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 T Text Filter Suite — · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Best Selling Products For WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 R Restaurant Manager — Online Food Ordering, Delivery & Pickup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 WP Mor Resto 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Recipes 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.