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

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 “debt”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Novalnet Payment Gateway for Easy Digital Downloads shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder places #2 on merit, 4.8★ from 90 reviews, but shows at wp.org #6. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too low 3 Split Pay – Stripe Connect Split Payments & Multi-Vendor Marketplace for WooCommerce & FluentCart 100+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #13 10 too low 4 U.S. Debt Clock Widget 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 5 Tabby Checkout 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Home Affordability Calculator 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Giuliomax Menu Builder 20+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #18 ↓1 11 too low 8 Easy Form 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 DMValdez AI Context 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Novalnet Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Float Payment Gateway 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too high 13 Zero BS Accounting 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 6 too high 14 AddonCraft for Elementor — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15 Commercial Real Estate Valuation Calculator 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 S SmartMoney77 Financial Calculators 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 FinSpark: Calculator Suite — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 All DashAI — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 Novalnet Payment Gateway for Easy Digital Downloads 20+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 B belingoCredit 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 Dakidarts Numerology Core — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 Personal Finance Manager – PN — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 SORS API for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Jika.io Stock Market Widgets 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.