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

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 shortcodes”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

L

Ranked above its merit

Live Clock Widget shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 90+ 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

All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 542 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Time Clock – A WordPress Employee & Volunteer Time Clock Plugin 500+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Countdown, Coming Soon, Maintenance – Countdown & Clock 10K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #5 ↑3 1 too low 5 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #16 11 too low 6 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #21 15 too low 7 MX Time Zone Clocks 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Buttonizer – Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds 40K+ · 4.8★ (396) wp.org #20 ↓1 12 too low 9 HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Countix Sales Countdown Timer 5K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 CoolClock 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Clock In Portal- Staff & Attendance Management 200+ · 3.9★ (11) wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Digital Clock 300+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 Uji Countdown 4K+ · 3.2★ (54) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 The School Management – Education & Learning ERP 700+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 WPC Product Options for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 WPC Countdown Timer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 Welcome Greetings based on Time 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 IP2Location World Clock 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 L Live Clock Widget 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 13 too high 22 Time.now Clock Widget 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Alert Box Block – Grab Attention with Eye-Catching Notices 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 MWR Hit Counter 100+ · 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.