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← Rankings

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

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 “descriptions”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Category Description for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 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

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1667 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #2 3 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 A Allow HTML in Category Descriptions 8K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Terms descriptions 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #17 ↓5 8 too low 10 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #19 ↓3 7 too low 13 Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too low 14 VS Meta Description 3K+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17 Post Descriptions 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓2 6 too low 18 P Product Categories/Tags Bottom Description for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too high 19 FV Descriptions 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Category Description for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑1 12 too high 22 WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) 500K+ · 2.0★ (105) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 TP Product Description in Loop for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too high 24 Pagebreak Description 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 11 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.