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← Rankings

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

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 “corrections”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

QR Code Creator shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 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

WP Last Modified Info places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 855 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #1 2 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #2 3 Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Kaya QR Code Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 WP Last Modified Info 40K+ · 4.9★ (855) wp.org #17 ↑1 11 too low 7 Flexible PDF Invoices for WooCommerce & WordPress 6K+ · 4.4★ (37) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 WP Swiper 5K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Advanced Woo Search – Product Search for WooCommerce 60K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 VK Blocks 100K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #5 ↓1 5 too high 11 Seraphinite Post .DOCX Source 800+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Search in Place 3K+ · 4.9★ (64) wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 Broken Link Notifier 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Jetpack Search 5K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Premmerce Product Search for WooCommerce 800+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Decimal Product Quantity for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Shipink 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 WProofreader spell & grammar check plugin for WordPress 4K+ · 3.7★ (15) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Image Editor by Pixo 700+ · 3.5★ (10) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 QR Code Creator 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 NivoSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑5 7 too high 23 CodingBunny Database Cleaner 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Counter-Hits 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 5 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.