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

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 “decentralized”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Event Bridge for ActivityPub shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 70+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Web3Press – Migrating to 3ook.com Decentralized Bookstore 300+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #1 2 Friends 900+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Bitcoin Payments – Blockonomics 2K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Friendly Captcha for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (18) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Web3 Crypto Payments by DePay for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Pay With MetaMask For WooCommerce – Cryptocurrency Payment Gateway 400+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 WebFinger 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 too high 8 AntiSpam for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Cryptoniq 60+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10 Crypto Payment Gateway with Instant Payouts 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓2 4 too high 11 Ether and ERC20 tokens WooCommerce Payment Gateway 10+ · 3.3★ (7) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 AURPAY Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) – Bitcoin Crypto Payment Gateway 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 AURPAY WooCommerce – Bitcoin/USDT Crypto Payment Gateway 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 AURPAY Paid Memberships Pro (PMP) – Bitcoin Crypto Payment Gateway 20+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑4 15 Vunelix Financial Widgets – Cryptocurrency, Stock Ticker & Forex 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 Boxcoin 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Event Bridge for ActivityPub 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 Payra Cash Crypto Payment — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Sign-in With Solana 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 AesirX Consent 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓3 2 too high 21 Secure DB Bridge For Bervice — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Oksigenia Share — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 YEGHRO Nostr Login 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Web3 Crypto Payments by DePay for WordPress 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.