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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “code finder”

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 “code finder”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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.

Ranked above its merit

Source Lens – Code Finder shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 300+ 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

CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 365 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #1 2 Shortcodes Finder 4K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #2 3 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too low 4 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Accessibility Tools & Alt Text Finder 3K+ · 4.9★ (69) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148) wp.org #13 ↓2 7 too low 7 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365) wp.org #23 ↓1 15 too low 9 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #19 ↓1 10 too low 10 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Agile Store Locator 10K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 Connect Polylang for Elementor 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 Postcodes4U Address Finder 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 F FeedWordPress 8K+ · 4.2★ (61) wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 Conflict Finder 100+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 Website Internal Link Optimiser 200+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Locatoraid Store Locator 1K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Source Lens – Code Finder 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 16 too high 20 UK Address Postcode Validation 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Virus Finder 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too high 22 Block Finder 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑2 11 too high 23 DBlocks Finder – Find Patterns and Blocks 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 Media Purge – Unused Media Cleaner & Duplicate Finder 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.