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

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 “detach”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 18 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 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

Schedule Terms shows at wp.org #3 but places #8 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Query Monitor places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MKL Product Configurator for WooCommerce – 2D & 3D Live Preview 2K+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 SVG Flags – Country Flag Blocks and Galleries 2K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #19 ↑1 16 too low 4 Query Monitor 200K+ · 4.9★ (470) wp.org #23 ↓5 19 too low 5 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #20 ↓4 15 too low 6 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #21 ↓2 15 too low 7 Synced Patterns for Themes 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Schedule Terms 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Aculect AI Companion 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 M ManpreetDev Mail Designer for Contact Form 7 — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Citable GEO Schema – Make Your Website AI Citable 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 ProgMaze Media Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 Media Attachment Bulk Move — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14 Epox Connector for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 Comma Sense — Sync CSV to Table — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 Typography Stylist 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 Bazingaworld Recurring Events for The Events Calendar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 SanBar EXPress IMG Tuner for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too high 19 LolaCore for Bricks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 Staging Superpowers — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21 SansTerra Easy AI Chatbot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 TroubleLens – Conflict Detector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 SyncDock — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 Scayla Connect — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.