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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cool rss”

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 “cool rss”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 plugins are 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

Events Calendar for GeoDirectory shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ 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

Subtitles places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 53 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #1 2 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Disqus Conditional Load 3K+ · 4.5★ (64) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 AdRotate Banner Manager 20K+ · 4.3★ (655) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Essential Classy Addons for Elementor – 150+ Widgets, Templates & Performance Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 User IP and Location 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Beautiful taxonomy filters 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Better Click To Share – Shareable Quote Boxes for X (Twitter) 6K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Encyclopedia / Glossary / Wiki 1K+ · 3.4★ (161) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Subtitles 3K+ · 4.8★ (53) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 WP Basic Elements 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Vcgs Toolbox 100+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 C Content Visibility 90+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Events Calendar for GeoDirectory 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Matomo Tracker 100+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 BuddyStream 10+ · 2.2★ (25) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Publishers 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 RSS Feeds News Blocks 100+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 T Tipsy Social Icons 100+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 C Content Visibility RSS Feed — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 WP Conference 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 f(x) Login Customizer 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 C Cool Social Icons Widget 60+ · 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.