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

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 “descricao”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

leadlovers for Elementor shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

How this rank is calculated

Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.

A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.

A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.

Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.

merit plugin wp.org
1 CoffeeCode – Checkout for Getnet and WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Melhor Envio 10K+ · 2.2★ (59) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Virtuaria Correios – Frete, Etiqueta, Rastreio e Declaração 500+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Efí Bank 300+ · 3.6★ (19) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Dolutech Blacklist Protect 40+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 6 SuperFrete 1K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 FPG – Endereço automático por Cep no Checkout 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Nota Fiscal Eletrônica Webmania 400+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #23 15 too low 9 Notificações para WooCommerce 100+ · 2.6★ (5) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Vindi 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 Remove Special Characters on Upload 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓2 7 too low 12 Envio Ecom 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑5 13 WINTOUCH Cloud — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 F10 Escolar – Captura de Leads — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 Chat App Brasil 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 OurivesWeb — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 SanBar EXPress Fiscal Check-BR — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Frete Click 10+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 InCuca Helper 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 iaRe CRM — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 Affiliate Boost 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 OrendaPay 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 G Gateway de Pagamento Bitcoin Simplificado — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 leadlovers for Elementor 2K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓2 9 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.