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

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 “corrupted”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Softaculous shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10K+ 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

Polylang places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 2995 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1958) wp.org #1 2 WPML to Polylang 5K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #2 3 Total Upkeep – WordPress Backup Plugin plus Restore & Migrate by BoldGrid 50K+ · 4.8★ (441) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Force Reinstall 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 30K+ · 4.0★ (36) wp.org #5 6 Document Gallery 8K+ · 4.8★ (112) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Polylang 800K+ · 4.7★ (2995) wp.org #24 ↓1 17 too low 8 Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Greek Multi Tool – Greeklish Slugs, Permalinks & Transliteration 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Volunteer Sign Up Sheets 1K+ · 4.9★ (42) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Quill Forms | Conversational Multi Step Forms, Surveys & quizzes 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI providers 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Ethereal Link Replacer 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑2 2 too high 14 Site Lockdown Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 Optimal State – Advanced Optimization, Performance & Security Suite 40+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Softaculous 10K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 URLsLab 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Simple Editor Control – File History, Diff & Restore 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 AICOM – AI Commander 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 WindCodex ScraperBlock – Block AI Scrapers & Bots from WordPress & WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 Ultimate WP DB Manager – WordPress Database Backup, Cleanup & Optimize 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 Orphanix Media Cleanup 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 BackReload – Backup, Restore & Migration 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Migrator – Site Migration and Backup 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓4 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.