Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 years”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Date Time Picker for WPForms shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ 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

The Events Calendar places #8 on merit, 4.2★ from 2461 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #4 5 Shortcode for Current Date 10K+ · 5.0★ (116) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 Order Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #23 15 too low 9 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 WP Hebrew Date 600+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Current Year, Symbols and IP Shortcode 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Nepali Date Utilities 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 First payment date for WooCommerce Subscriptions 400+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Years Ago Today 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Nepali Date Converter 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 Dynamic Year Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Date Time Picker for Contact Form 7 20K+ · 3.3★ (21) wp.org #18 19 Users Registration Date – Sortable Users Column 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 20 Current Year Shortcode VICT 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Date Time Picker for WPForms 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Advanced Datepicker – Restrict Date for Elementor Forms 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Upload Media Exif Date 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for WPForms 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 3 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.