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

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 “debugger”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Debugger & Troubleshooter shows at wp.org #1 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 90+ 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

Easy Form Builder by WhiteStudio – Drag & Drop Form Builder places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 70 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 WP Console – WordPress PHP Console powered by PsySH 20K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too low 4 DebugPress: Debugger in Popup 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Lord of the Files: Enhanced Upload Security 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Genial Comments 4K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Easy Form Builder by WhiteStudio – Drag & Drop Form Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #18 ↓1 10 too low 9 Debugger & Troubleshooter 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 8 too high 10 MOBILOOK — Mobile View & Mobile‑Friendly Test 1K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11 Debug This 2K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #14 ↓3 3 too low 12 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 Amazing Affiliates – Toolkit for Amazon Associates with Amazon Product Blocks and Amazon PAAPI5 / Creators API integration 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 ↑3 8 too high 14 Open Graph Protocol Framework 3K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Open Graphite 3K+ · 3.3★ (8) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 AI Chatbot & Semantic Search: ChatGPT Answers From Your Content 100+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 WP Mail Debugger 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18 Agency Toolkit 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too high 19 Schwarttzy's Open Graph 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Dynamic Inspector for Elementor – Performance Profiler & Debugger 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓3 1 too high 21 P Pipe9 WSOD Debugger — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Menulookin Admin Menu Debugger — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 W WebOsmotic AI Site Debugger — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 AEO Engine 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓3 1 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.