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

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 “datenschutzerklärung”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

FLIZpay Gateway für WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

How this rank is calculated

Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.

A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.

A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.

Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PrivacyBee – Datenschutz im Autopilot 800+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #1 2 Funnelforms Free – Multi Step Form, Contact Form & Lead Funnel Builder 1K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #6 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 3 avalex – Automatisch sichere Rechtstexte 900+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 4 getLaw WP API Client 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 5 Worthy – VG WORT Integration für WordPress 1K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #20 wp.org ranks it 15 places below merit 6 Janolaw AGB Hosting 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 7 W wpShopGermany IT-RECHT KANZLEI 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 8 MarketPrint 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 Opuswerk Legal PDFs for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 10 Fabriel Team Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 11 Bastora Security Audit 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 12 D Dashboard for Availio — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 13 tymok – Terminbuchung & Buchungskalender (DSGVO, Hosting in DE) — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 14 chatIng — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 wp.org ranks it 3 places above merit 15 Banana Defender – GDPR-Compliant Firewall, Scanner & Virtual Patching for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 Deinwebseitenchat – DSGVO-konformer KI-Chatbot für deine Website — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 Tebuto – Online-Terminbuchung — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 AVP Kontakt — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Heyrecruit 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 20 RezaTain SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 21 TranslateRocket – Free Multilingual Translation, Unlimited Languages 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 22 E Evangelische Termine für The Events Calendar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 23 Dogorama Gefahrenmeldungen 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 24 FLIZpay Gateway für WooCommerce 70+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #5 wp.org ranks it 19 places above merit

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.