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

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 “college”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

EDU Results Publishing – Student Result Management shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 60+ 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

Listdom: AI-powered Business Directory with Classifieds Ads Listings places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 60 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #1 2 MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Knowledge Base documentation & wiki plugin – BasePress Docs 2K+ · 4.8★ (75) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Revive Social – Social Media Auto Post and Scheduling Automation Plugin 20K+ · 4.0★ (556) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #13 ↓3 6 too low 8 WP Event Aggregator: Import Eventbrite events, Meetup events, social events and any iCal Events into Event Calendar 1K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Listdom: AI-powered Business Directory with Classifieds Ads Listings 1K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Ticket Tailor — Event Ticketing & Registration 4K+ · 4.3★ (46) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Virtual Classroom & Video Conferencing – BigBlueButton 400+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #11 12 Educare – Students & Result Management System 600+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 C Commons In A Box 20+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Store Locator for WordPress📍 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 connectDaily Events Calendar Plugin 90+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Acadlix LMS – AI Quiz Maker, Online Exam & Course Plugin for WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑3 6 too high 17 EDU Results Publishing – Student Result Management 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 13 too high 18 Curtain Raiser for Inaugural Ceremony 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 Dashboard for Pressbooks and H5P 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Academic Certificate Verification – Certificate Management & Certificate Validator 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 WP Education – Education WordPress Plugin for Elementor 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Tohidul Certificate Verification System 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 LM Certificate Publisher 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Campus Directory – Faculty, Staff & Student Directory Plugin for WordPress 80+ · 3.0★ (2) 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.