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

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 “coloured”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

NexLink shows at wp.org #14 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.5★ (63) wp.org #1 2 Easy Google Maps 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Colorful Categories 2K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Gmap Block 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Mortar for Bricks Builder 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Interactive Globes – 3D World Maps 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 8 Spotrebiteľské práva pre WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 9 Vunelix Financial Widgets – Cryptocurrency, Stock Ticker & Forex 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 One Two Three Post 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 TCE Assignments Tools — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 12 AR for WooCommerce – 3D Product Viewer & Augmented Reality — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Sulado Odstúpenie a reklamácie for WooCommerce 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 W WpLoadGraph – Log and display server load of your WP site 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 GetSiteCalendar Lite 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 iG:Syntax Hiliter 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 Wexofy Quick Order Status for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 Aizle Dots — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 NexLink 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 L LaserEngraverExpert Material Settings — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 LassoCut – Remove Background — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Chiaro SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Incode Heatmap — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 LLMs.txt Generator – AI Visibility 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.