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

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 “dependancy”, we and wp.org disagree 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

CloudAware Security Audit shows at wp.org #2 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its — 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

Fluid Checkout for WooCommerce – Lite places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 159 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #3 ↑2 2 too low 2 Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Transcoder 400+ · 3.6★ (8) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 Instant Images – One-click Image Uploads from Unsplash, Openverse, Pixabay, Pexels, and Giphy 100K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Fluid Checkout for WooCommerce – Lite 20K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Persistent Login 5K+ · 3.9★ (26) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Zeno Font Resizer 5K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 weForms – Easy Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder For WordPress 10K+ · 4.5★ (111) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 80K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 CoolClock 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Disable Cart Fragments by Optimocha 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 WP Map Block – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store & Shop Locator, Directory, Listings & Filters 20K+ · 4.0★ (21) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Rover IDX 200+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 CloudAware Security Audit — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 16 too high 19 Square Sync for WooCommerce | Comprehensive Data Sync Between Square and WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Employee, Leave and Recruitment Management System – Crew HRM 100+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Audio Album 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 IMPress for IDX Broker 7K+ · 3.1★ (34) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 MH Free Gifts for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Nightingale Companion 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 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.