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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “date copyright”

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 “date copyright”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Dynamic Copyright Year Customizer shows at wp.org #1 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 11 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

BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Dynamic Year Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Timetable and Event Schedule by MotoPress 30K+ · 4.3★ (69) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Kraken.io Image Optimizer – Compress, Convert to WebP & AVIF, Resize & Bulk Optimize 10K+ · 4.5★ (119) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Current Year, Symbols and IP Shortcode 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Dynamic Copyright Year Customizer 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 11 too high 13 Genesis Simple Hooks 20K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Smart Copyright Year (Lite) – Auto Current Year Updater Shortcode 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 C Custom Upload Dir 5K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Tripzzy – Travel Engine System 100+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 AADMY – Add Auto Date Month Year Into Posts 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 MotoPress Hotel Booking for Elementor 10K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Quick Feed Copyright 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Simple Show Date 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Image Copyright Manager 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 TZM Copyright Block 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Futurio Extra 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.