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

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 “child”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 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

WPS Child Theme Generator shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #1 2 Child Theme Wizard 10K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 WP Child Theme Generator 20K+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #3 4 CC Child Pages 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Child Theme Configurator 300K+ · 4.7★ (280) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 MainWP Child Reports 100K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #17 ↑1 9 too low 9 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #22 ↑2 13 too low 10 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Generate Child Theme 9K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Nested Pages 90K+ · 4.7★ (126) wp.org #21 ↓1 9 too low 13 SureFeedback Client Site 5K+ · 4.0★ (39) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Child Theme Check 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 Advanced Sidebar Menu 10K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 Protect the Children! 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 WPvivid Backup for MainWP 10K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too low 20 List Child Pages Shortcode 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 WPS Child Theme Generator 6K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 APM Child 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Siteward Child 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 Child Pages Card 80+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #14 10 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.