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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “comment avatar”

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 “comment avatar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Easy Author Avatar Image shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ 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-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2617 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #1 2 Simple User Avatar 20K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #2 3 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #10 7 too low 4 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too low 6 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #22 ↑2 12 too low 11 Lazy Load for Comments 2K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #20 ↓2 8 too low 13 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles, and Privacy 100K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17 Advanced User Avatar | Custom Profile Picture Uploader for WordPress, WooCommerce, and BuddyPress 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 ↑1 10 too high 18 Decent Comments 1K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too high 19 Easy Author Avatar Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 15 too high 20 Comment Mention 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Visibility – Lightweight SEO, AEO and GEO for Search and AI 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 Webmention 900+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 24 FluentComments – AJAX Comments, Anti-Spam & Comment Email Notifications 700+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 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.