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

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 “dance”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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.

Ranked above its merit

Smart Forms & Calculators By Embed Sheets shows at wp.org #15 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 100+ 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

Easy Appointment Booking & Scheduling Plugin – Webba Booking Calendar places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 159 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #1 2 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #2 3 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #3 4 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #4 5 Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly 60K+ · 4.4★ (586) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Affiliate Coupons – Coupon Display Manager – Excellent Tool for Affiliate Marketers 1K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #6 7 Easy Appointment Booking & Scheduling Plugin – Webba Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Tockify Events Calendar 2K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Layouts for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #9 10 Hydra Booking — Appointment Scheduling & Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 TrueBooker – Appointment Booking and Scheduler System 600+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Gym Builder – Class Timetable & Booking for Gyms, Fitness & Yoga Studios 100+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Video Gallery – YouTube, Vimeo Gallery & YouTube API 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Time Slot – Booking and Appointment System 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Blaminhor Essentials – SEO, Cache, Backup, SMTP, Redirects, Broken Links, Cookie Banner, Hide Login & More 80+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Evergreen Content Poster – Auto Post and Schedule Your Best Content to Social Media 90+ · 4.1★ (13) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Bukza 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Contact Form Migrator from Gravity Forms to Formidable 300+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #18 19 ZOOZA 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Smart Forms & Calculators By Embed Sheets 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Bye Felisha 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 A Automaize Class Schedule 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Attendra – Class, Package & Attendance Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 L Lektivo — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.