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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “copy editing”

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 “copy editing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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 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

Quick Copy – Duplicate Posts & Pages shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ 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

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 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 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #1 2 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #2 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #7 ↓2 4 too low 4 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #5 ↓2 6 User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #13 ↓3 6 too low 8 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 Disable Right Click RB – Content Copy Protection, Prevent Copy & No Right Click 600+ · 4.2★ (14) wp.org #4 ↑3 5 too high 10 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #3 8 too high 12 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #15 ↑8 3 too low 13 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #22 ↓2 9 too low 14 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 FileOrganizer – WordPress File Manager 200K+ · 4.8★ (49) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too high 16 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17 Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 CopySafe Web Protection – Copy Protect Images 800+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 CopySafe PDF Protection – Copy Protect PDF 300+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #21 22 Quick Copy – Duplicate Posts & Pages 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓2 14 too high 23 OBULKiT – Bulk Edit Orders for WooCommerce 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too high 24 W WordPress.com Editing Toolkit 1K+ · 2.4★ (13) wp.org #16 ↓2 8 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.