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

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 “cup”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

WP Quick Post Duplicator shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 204 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 W World Cup Predictor 100+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #3 4 JoomSport – for Sports: Team & League, Football, Hockey & more 1K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #4 5 Football Pool 900+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 Floating Contact Button for MAX and Telegram 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 WPSSO Schema Product Metadata for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Divine Astro 100+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #9 10 Flexible Quantity & Price Calculator for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #10 11 Sport Predictions for JoomSport 50+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #11 12 Prevent Landscape Rotation 1K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Scoremer: Football Livescore, Tables and Fixtures 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 14 Custom Product Builder for WooCommerce – Product Designer & Personalizer 300+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Flexible Wishlist for WooCommerce – Ecommerce Wishlist & Save for later 700+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 WP Quick Post Duplicator 2K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 WP PHP Version Display 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Scrumptious – Recipe Cards 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Sportstats Cup Generator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 AZScore: Live Score and football fixures and results 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 21 Auto Fixture Generator for SportsPress 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Redirect Author Pages 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 WP Version Tag Remover 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Publish Confirm Message 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.