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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content authenticity”

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 “content authenticity”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

InboxAuth – Email Security, Setup SPF / DKIM, DMARC & Check Email Authenticity shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 69 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 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #1 2 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #2 3 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin 20K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 PDF & Print by BestWebSoft – WordPress Posts and Pages PDF Generator Plugin 9K+ · 3.9★ (102) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.8★ (47) wp.org #7 ↑2 8 Classified Listing – AI-Powered Classified ads & Business Directory 9K+ · 4.8★ (138) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) wp.org #17 ↑3 8 too low 10 Contact Form by BestWebSoft – Advanced WP Contact Form Builder for WordPress 30K+ · 4.0★ (292) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Multilanguage by BestWebSoft – WordPress Translation Plugin and Language Switcher 3K+ · 3.8★ (92) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 ReviewX – Multi-Criteria Reviews for WooCommerce with Google Reviews & Schema 6K+ · 4.5★ (85) wp.org #24 ↓3 11 too low 14 Error Log Viewer by BestWebSoft 5K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Solid Testimonials – Testimonial Slider, Video Testimonials & Customer Reviews 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #15 ↑2 16 Captcha by BestWebSoft – Advanced Spam Protection, Math & OCR-Friendly Captcha for Site Forms 10K+ · 4.1★ (21) wp.org #19 ↑5 3 too low 17 24TT Document Verifier 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 ValidateCertify Free 900+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 EU VAT Guard for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 InboxAuth – Email Security, Setup SPF / DKIM, DMARC & Check Email Authenticity 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓2 11 too high 21 WP Subscription Forms – Subscription Form Plugin for WordPress 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Helpfulcrowd Product Reviews 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Cloudi7 ID Card Generator 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 Oderland SMTP & Postal Mailer 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.