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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “creative commons”

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 “creative commons”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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.

W

Ranked above its merit

WPFrank Companion shows at wp.org #3 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 616 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #1 2 Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80) wp.org #2 3 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1596) wp.org #10 ↓2 7 too low 4 M Mesmerize Companion 50K+ · 4.4★ (51) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 O One Page Express Companion 10K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Matomo Analytics – Powerful, Privacy-First Insights for WordPress 100K+ · 4.6★ (178) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #19 ↑5 12 too low 8 C Commons In A Box 20+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 GSpeech TTS – WordPress Text To Speech Plugin 3K+ · 4.8★ (178) wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10 ReCrawler 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 Supreme Modules Lite – Divi Theme, Extra Theme and Divi Builder 200K+ · 4.8★ (109) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 Leaflet Maps Marker (Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps) 9K+ · 4.6★ (244) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 WPSyncSheets For WooCommerce – Import & Export Orders, Products, Customers & Coupons to Google Sheets in Real-Time 600+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 W WPFrank Companion 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 M Materialis Companion 6K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Simple Revision Control 1K+ · 3.8★ (13) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 Checklist Opquast Qualité Web 100+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Carousel Block – Showcase Images in Elegant Sliding Displays 7K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 About Author 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 Dessky Snippets 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 12 too high 22 A WP Life Companion 6K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Candy Social Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓3 24 Easy search and use CC-licensed images 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.