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

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 “compact”, we agree with wp.org 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.

C

Ranked above its merit

Compact Admin shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 80+ 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

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 807 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Compact WP Audio Player 20K+ · 4.1★ (69) wp.org #1 2 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Compact Archives 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #9 ↑4 3 too low 7 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #14 ↓10 5 too low 10 Music Player for Elementor – Audio Player & Podcast Player 10K+ · 4.7★ (123) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too low 11 Simple Shopping Cart 10K+ · 4.6★ (215) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Currency Converter Widget 2K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 Statify 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14 reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 WP phpMyAdmin 40K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too low 16 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too low 17 Mobile Contact Bar 9K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too low 18 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Sign-up Sheets 1K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Antimanual – Compact AI Agent for Content, Chat & SEO Automation 200+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #7 ↓1 13 too high 21 C Compact Admin 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 17 too high 22 Rede Itaú for WooCommerce — Payment PIX, Credit Card and Debit 1K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Cookie Notice lite 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑3 1 too high 24 Testimonial Carousel For Elementor 10K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 14 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.