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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “corona”

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 “corona”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 7 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

Covid-19 Corona Virus Report shows at wp.org #4 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 10+ 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

OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. places #2 on merit, 4.7★ from 213 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #8 6 too low 3 Post to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) 10K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #9 6 too low 4 Corona Bangladesh Live 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Corona Virus Data 1K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 COVID19 – Coronavirus Outbreak Data 200+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #6 7 Simple Website Banner 600+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Popular Brand Icons – Simple Icons 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 DR SARA COVID 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 iChart – Easy Charts and Graphs 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 Covid-19 Corona Virus Report 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Corona Test Results 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 13 Corona Update 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 Corona 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Coronavirus Alert Bar 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Corona Stats Live – Corona Virus COVID-19 Live Stats for WordPress Lite 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Vitxi Converse – Intelligent AI chatbot for Social Media — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 AcconsentoBot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Corona Awareness Popup 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 C Corona Zahlen in Deutschland 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Coronavirus 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Corona Meter India 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 W WP-C19Ampel 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 COVID-19 Float Button 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.