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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “comma separated values”

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 “comma separated values”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Bulk Page Duplicator shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 1966 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Alt Text Tools 800+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #3 4 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #4 5 Comments Import & Export 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #5 6 WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966) wp.org #18 ↑1 12 too low 7 Product Import Export for WooCommerce – CSV Product Importer & Exporter 80K+ · 4.6★ (413) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #11 ↑5 2 too low 10 CSV Importer 3K+ · 4.2★ (28) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11 HTML Page Sitemap (Block and Shortcode) 10K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13 Loading Page with Loading Screen 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 Mass Pages/Posts Creator 1K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #8 ↑3 6 too high 15 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 Music Player for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Gravity Forms Email Blacklist 10K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 CodePeople Post Map for Google Maps 3K+ · 4.2★ (31) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 WP Simple HTML Sitemap 3K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too high 20 Estimated Delivery for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 Bulk Page Duplicator 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓2 9 too high 22 Manage User Columns 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too high 23 WP Sitemap Pages and Posts 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 S Simple Menu Order Column 200+ · 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.