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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “copyright edit”

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 “copyright edit”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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

Dynamic Copyright Year shows at wp.org #1 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1138 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Change Storefront Footer Copyright Text 3K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #2 3 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #20 13 too low 8 BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Ocean Extra 400K+ · 3.3★ (67) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Ocean Social Sharing 60K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Timetable and Event Schedule by MotoPress 30K+ · 4.3★ (69) wp.org #12 13 reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Dynamic Copyright Year 800+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #1 13 too high 15 Block Editor Colors 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Genesis Simple Hooks 20K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Image Source Control Lite – Show Image Credits and Captions 3K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 W WP-dTree 2K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Stratum Widgets for Elementor 20K+ · 4.5★ (12) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Header Footer Builder for Elementor 30K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Image Copyright Manager 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 7 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.