Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “codestar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 5 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

SmartVP Video Player – MP4, YouTube & Vimeo shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its — 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

Speed Booster Pack ⚡ PageSpeed Optimization Suite places #11 on merit, 4.3★ from 186 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 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #1 2 HTML5 Audio Player – The Ultimate No-Code Podcast, MP3 & Audio Player 10K+ · 4.6★ (169) wp.org #2 3 3D Viewer – Turn Product Pages into Interactive 3D Experiences 9K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Video Player for YouTube – Embed Videos Your Visitors Will Love to Watch 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WP Datepicker 6K+ · 4.8★ (37) wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too low 6 MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 Panorama – Turn Photos into Immersive Virtual Tours 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Duplicate PP 10K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #13 ↓5 4 too low 10 WP Header Images 4K+ · 4.4★ (35) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 Speed Booster Pack ⚡ PageSpeed Optimization Suite 8K+ · 4.3★ (186) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 StreamCast – bring live radio to your site with a sleek player 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 WP SpeedUp 200+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 Swatchly – Product Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (29) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 Super Video player – Fully Customizable Video Player with Playlist 2K+ · 4.2★ (30) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 System Dashboard 900+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Interactive Globes – 3D World Maps 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓3 6 too high 19 Better Chat Support for Messenger 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Add to Cart Text Changer and Customize Button, Add Custom Icon 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 Wxs Text Watermarking 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 Persian date for codestar framework 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 SmartVP Video Player – MP4, YouTube & Vimeo — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 Dynamic Copyright Year 800+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 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.