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

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 “debate”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

SquareOffs shows at wp.org #4 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UiChemy – Convert Figma, Prompts and AI Builds to Elementor, Gutenberg and Bricks 8K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Protección de datos – RGPD 7K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #3 4 TotalPoll for Polls and Contests 1K+ · 4.3★ (45) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 C Cloak Affiliate Links for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #14 9 too low 6 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 FV Thoughtful Comments 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 8 Sided 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 SquareOffs 10+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 too high 10 V Vanilla Forums 100+ · 2.8★ (17) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 Thread Block — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Speakol 10+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 IntenseDebate Comments 500+ · 2.2★ (9) wp.org #13 14 BetAxol Audience Insights — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 G33Z3R Birthday Song & Retro Music Widgets — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Oxford Debate 10+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 DominoForm – Advanced Contact Form, Polls, Survey & Quiz Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Logora 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 D Deferendum Community Links — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 TwoSides — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 S Spam Catharsis 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 I IntenseDebate XML Importer (Blogger to WordPress) 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 T TheyWorkForYou — · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #18 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.