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

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

Shortcode for Font Awesome shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Preview and Open Graph Tags places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 122 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #1 2 Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Privacy Policy Generator, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, Cookie Policy & Disclaimer Templates – WPLP Legal Pages 10K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub) 100K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 SVG Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #6 7 Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Seers AI | Cookie Consent Banner – GDPR & CCPA Compliant Consent Management Platform 1K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 BuddyPilot Withdrawal – Easy Returns for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Packeta 8K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 EU Withdrawal and Legal Guarantee Compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #21 ↓4 9 too low 13 Email Marketing Plugin – WP Email Capture 1K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 B Bitron Right of Withdrawal 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Open Close Store for WooCommerce – Business Hours & Order Scheduling 600+ · 3.4★ (41) wp.org #24 ↓4 9 too low 16 Whitespace Fixer for XML Sitemap 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 Smart LazyLoad – Lazy Load Images, Videos and Iframes 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Raffle Ticket Generator – Woocommerce 100+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19 Shortcode for Font Awesome 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Web Pixel Studio Cookie Consent for EU 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too high 21 Cookie Rocket, Cookie Consent Banner and Script Blocker for GDPR, CCPA and LGPD 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑7 5 too high 23 Donor Merchant – Donation Form with Recurring Donations, Stripe and PayPal 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Ujweblapot.hu – Online Elállás for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓4 2 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.