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← Rankings

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

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 “class”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

HTML Tag and Class Replace shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100+ 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

Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1071 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #3 ↑2 2 too low 2 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #4 ↑4 1 too low 4 CSS Class Manager – An advanced autocomplete additional css class control for your blocks 500+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 C Custom Body Class 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 WP-PageNavi 400K+ · 4.7★ (149) wp.org #11 ↓7 4 too low 8 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #15 ↑3 7 too low 9 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #19 ↑1 10 too low 10 Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too low 12 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #14 ↑3 2 too low 13 Add class to Elementor Image 1K+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #5 ↓2 8 too high 14 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Breadcrumb NavXT 800K+ · 4.6★ (132) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too low 16 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #18 ↑5 2 too low 17 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ · 4.3★ (247) wp.org #22 ↓9 4 too low 19 Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Gym Builder – Class Timetable & Booking for Gyms, Fitness & Yoga Studios 100+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 HTML Tag and Class Replace 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Body Class By URL Parameter 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑2 14 too high 23 Change class in viewport: create animations with pure CSS 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑2 14 too high 24 Block Class Manager – Global CSS Classes & Responsive Styles for Gutenberg 10+ · 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.