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

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 up”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 6 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

Auto Update Post Date shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 2K+ 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

Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 282 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 Gift Up Gift Cards for WordPress and WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (235) wp.org #1 2 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #2 3 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Sign-up Sheets 1K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Coupon X – Discount Popups, Promo Codes Pop Ups for WooCommerce & Announcement Popups 1K+ · 4.9★ (52) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Order Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (282) wp.org #21 ↑1 10 too low 12 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Order Delivery Date And Time 1K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Date Time Picker for Contact Form 7 20K+ · 3.3★ (21) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Nepali Date Converter 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 First payment date for WooCommerce Subscriptions 400+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 Speed Up – Browser Caching 700+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 WPC Estimated Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Auto Update Post Date 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 Product Delivery Date for WooCommerce – Lite 1K+ · 4.1★ (13) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction 8K+ · 3.4★ (13) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 WP Counter Up – Animated Number Counter & Milestone Showcase 1K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #15 ↑3 8 too high 24 Date Time Picker for WPForms 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 10 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.