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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “clock in”

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 “clock in”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Digital Clock shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 3992 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #2 ↑3 1 too low 2 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Time Clock – A WordPress Employee & Volunteer Time Clock Plugin 500+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #12 8 too low 5 Countdown, Coming Soon, Maintenance – Countdown & Clock 10K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Simple Digital Clock 🕒 500+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 too high 8 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #20 12 too low 9 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 MX Time Zone Clocks 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11 Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 All in One Time Clock Lite – Tracking Employee Time Has Never Been Easier 500+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #5 ↓1 8 too high 14 CoolClock 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Countix Sales Countdown Timer 5K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Clock In Portal- Staff & Attendance Management 200+ · 3.9★ (11) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 too high 18 CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Migrate to WordPress.com 2K+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Digital Clock 300+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓3 11 too high 21 World Clocks 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 IP2Location World Clock 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 L Live Clock Widget 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Admin Toolbar Live Clock 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.