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

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 tool”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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

Debugger & Troubleshooter shows at wp.org #1 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 10 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

Video Conferencing with Zoom places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 217 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 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #6 ↑3 4 too low 3 WP Console – WordPress PHP Console powered by PsySH 20K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #5 6 DebugPress: Debugger in Popup 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 R Really Simple CSV Importer 40K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Video Conferencing with Zoom 10K+ · 4.8★ (217) wp.org #23 ↓1 13 too low 11 Debugger & Troubleshooter 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 10 too high 12 Lord of the Files: Enhanced Upload Security 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 Easy Form Builder by WhiteStudio – Drag & Drop Form Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #21 ↑2 8 too low 14 MOBILOOK — Mobile View & Mobile‑Friendly Test 1K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Open Graph Protocol Framework 3K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 WP Mail Debugger 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 too high 18 Open Graphite 3K+ · 3.3★ (8) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Schwarttzy's Open Graph 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 Agency Toolkit 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 CU Debug Tool by CodeUnion 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 P Pipe9 WSOD Debugger — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Menulookin Admin Menu Debugger — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 Dynamic Inspector for Elementor – Performance Profiler & Debugger 50+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.