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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “debug bar”

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 “debug bar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20.

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

Environment & Debug Bar shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Sticky Menu & Sticky Header places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 763 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 Debug Bar 20K+ · 4.1★ (69) wp.org #1 2 WPFront Notification Bar 40K+ · 4.5★ (131) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #3 4 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Query Monitor 200K+ · 4.9★ (470) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Debug Bar Console 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #17 ↓1 9 too low 9 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #23 ↓2 14 too low 10 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Simple Banner – Easily add multiple Banners/Bars/Notifications/Announcements to the top or bottom of your website 50K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #16 ↑4 5 too low 12 WP Debugging 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Black Bar 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Debug This 2K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #14 15 Omnibus — show the lowest price 10K+ · 4.1★ (51) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 ElasticPress Debugging Add-On 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Developer Debug Tools 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Notice Bar 700+ · 3.6★ (9) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Debug Bar Rewrite Rules 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 atec Debug 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Environment & Debug Bar 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 D Debug Bar Rewrite Rules 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 BugTrace – Debug Log Tool 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Developer Debug Mode 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 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.