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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cmb2”

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 “cmb2”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Fonto – Custom Web Fonts Manager shows at wp.org #4 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Ultimate CSV Importer – WordPress CSV, XML & Excel Import Export places #6 on merit, 4.4★ from 593 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 CMB2 300K+ · 5.0★ (91) wp.org #1 2 Automatic Featured Images from Videos 7K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Interactive Image Map Plugin – Draw Attention 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Taxonomy Switcher 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Post Grid 30K+ · 4.3★ (163) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 WP Ultimate CSV Importer – WordPress CSV, XML & Excel Import Export 20K+ · 4.4★ (593) wp.org #17 ↓1 11 too low 7 C CMB2 Admin Extension 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 WP Search with Algolia 7K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too high 9 Hash Link Scroll Offset 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Event Single Page Builder For The Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 AnWP Football Leagues 700+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Generate Images (AI) – Magic Post Thumbnail 5K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 Autocomplete Google places 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 Fonto – Custom Web Fonts Manager 2K+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #4 ↑1 10 too high 15 Mattytap Sermons 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 AnWP Sports Leagues – Basketball, Ice Hockey, Handball, Rugby & More 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑3 2 too high 17 Floating Awesome Button (Sticky Button, Popup, Toast) & 200+ Website Custom Interactive Element 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 WP MyLinks 1K+ · 4.0★ (14) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 WP Film Studio – WordPress Movie Maker/Production Plugin 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 ComboBlocks — Block Library & Page Builder 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 WP Insurance – WordPress Insurance Service Plugin 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Dummyra Content Seeder by Jayanta77 — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Scheidungskostenrechner 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 HT Politic – For Political WordPress Themes / Website 200+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.