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

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 “counter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites shows at wp.org #3 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ 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

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 1872 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Simple Download Counter 2K+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #18 ↑4 13 too low 6 Post Pay Counter 1K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Cresta Social Share Counter 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #23 ↑1 15 too low 9 SRS Simple Hits Counter 8K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Counter Box – Add Countdowns, Timers & Dynamic Counters to WordPress 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Counters Block – Animated Number Counters, Stats & Dynamic KPIs 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Counter live visitors for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↑2 5 too high 13 Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 10 too high 14 Social Counter & Sharer 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Wp Post Views – WordPress Post views counter 4K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 WP Counter Up – Animated Number Counter & Milestone Showcase 1K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too high 17 WPS Visitor Counter 10K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 PageViews Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Animated Number Counters 2K+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Click Counter and Heat Maps (Free) 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Counter-Hits 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 MWR Hit Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Word Counter Plus 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Sales Counter For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.