Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “dao”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 5 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

Lagersystem.dk: Parcelpickup locator for Woocommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 30+ 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

Wise Chat places #4 on merit, 4.4★ from 105 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Smart Send 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 2 DevVN – Trang trí Tết Việt Nam 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 3 DEPRECATED – Shipmondo – A complete shipping solution for WooCommerce 4K+ · 3.0★ (8) wp.org #3 4 Wise Chat 4K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #21 17 too low 5 NXT Cloud Chat – CRM, Inbox & OTP Login 30+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Shipmondo for WooCommerce 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 EchBay Phonering Alo 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 LNH Lunar Calendar 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 W Webshipper – Automated Shipping 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 EchBay Admin Security 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 EchBay Live Chat 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Lagersystem.dk: Parcelpickup locator for Woocommerce 30+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 EchBay Tag Manager 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 EchBay – JPEG, PNG image compression 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 Khách Mê – AI Chatbot & Live Chat — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 EchBay Search Everything 200+ · 2.5★ (2) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Heavenkey – Digital Will Web3 — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 EchBay For Flatsome — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 EchBay For CocCoc — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 NXT Floating Chat 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Multi-Carrier Shipmondo Shipping for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 eKMap Store Locator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 D DAO Login 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Token / NFT / Blockchain Page Gating 10+ · 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.