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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “current year”

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 “current year”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Dynamic Copyright Year Customizer shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 200+ 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

W3 Total Cache places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 5420 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Current Year, Symbols and IP Shortcode 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 2 Shortcode for Current Date 10K+ · 5.0★ (116) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #3 4 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #11 ↑2 7 too low 5 GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too low 7 Current Year Shortcode VICT 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too low 9 Dynamic Year Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #16 ↑5 4 too low 13 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 Anti-spam Reloaded 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 Ocean Extra 400K+ · 3.3★ (67) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 Years Ago Today 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Smart Copyright Year (Lite) – Auto Current Year Updater Shortcode 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 C Current Age Plugin 60+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 AADMY – Add Auto Date Month Year Into Posts 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 Dynamic Copyright Year 800+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Dynamic Copyright Year Customizer 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 16 too high 23 Current Year Shortcode 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 10 too high 24 T Texlab Current Year — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.