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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “compatibility mode”

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 “compatibility mode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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

Eli's PHP Compatibility Scanner shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 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

Under Construction places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1285 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874) wp.org #1 2 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #2 3 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #9 ↑4 6 too low 4 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 YITH WooCommerce Catalog Mode 60K+ · 3.7★ (45) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 Under Construction, Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode 10K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Minimal Coming Soon – Coming Soon Page 100K+ · 4.3★ (282) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Maintenance Mode 8K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 ELEX WooCommerce Catalog Mode 10K+ · 4.7★ (17) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #19 ↑1 8 too low 12 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too low 14 Dark Mode Toggle 2K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (29) wp.org #16 ↑3 17 Darklup – Enhanced WordPress Dark Mode, Dark Theme, Night Mode & Accessibility Plugin 1K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Eli's PHP Compatibility Scanner 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 DarkLooks – Dark Mode Switcher For WordPress 800+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Maintenance mode for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 Disable Block Editor FullScreen mode 1K+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too high 22 Holiday Mode for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 Speedx – Maintenance Mode 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 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.