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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “customizer settings”

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 “customizer settings”, 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

Reset Customizer shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 700+ 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

YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 291 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 Customizer Export/Import 100K+ · 4.8★ (115) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 Import / Export Customizer Settings 50K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Custom Login Page Customizer 80K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too low 6 Customizer Backup & Reset 7K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Customizer for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Colorlib 404 Customizer 5K+ · 4.7★ (51) wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too low 9 LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Astra Customizer Reset 20K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Mailonix – Email Template Customizer for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (105) wp.org #12 ↑2 13 Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #21 ↓3 8 too low 14 Email Customizer for WooCommerce | Drag and Drop Email Templates Builder 9K+ · 4.3★ (44) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 Thanko Thank You Page Customizer for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.5★ (37) wp.org #15 ↓6 16 Customizer Search 40K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 EmailKit – Email Customizer for WooCommerce & WP 70K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 Customizer Reset – Export & Import 900+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 Advanced Import 80K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 Reset Customizer 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 ThemeHunk Customizer 6K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Hunk Companion 5K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Login Page Customizer – Customize Login Screen & Branding 1K+ · 3.2★ (5) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Dynamic Copyright Year Customizer 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.