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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “digg widget”

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 “digg widget”, 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

WiraKit For Elementor – Powerful Elementor Widgets And Theme Builder shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 70+ 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

W3 Total Cache places #9 on merit, 4.4★ from 5420 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #1 2 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Social Login, Social Sharing by miniOrange 10K+ · 4.6★ (356) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Spexo Addons for Elementor – Elementor Widgets, Mega Menu, Popup Builder, Template Kits and Starter Templates for Elementor 6K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 WP Socializer – Simple & Easy Social Media Share Icons 10K+ · 4.5★ (128) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic 10K+ · 4.4★ (1053) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 Social Media Widget 30K+ · 3.9★ (84) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 Team Members – A WordPress Team Plugin with Gallery, Grid, Carousel, Slider, Table, List, and More 2K+ · 4.7★ (91) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 GS Books Showcase – Display Books in Grid, Slider & More | Library for WordPress 500+ · 4.8★ (42) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Meks Smart Social Widget 10K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Solid Testimonials – Testimonial Slider, Video Testimonials & Customer Reviews 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Social Snap — Social Share Buttons & Click to Tweet 10K+ · 4.2★ (58) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Good old Share 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 WiraKit For Elementor – Powerful Elementor Widgets And Theme Builder 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 ShareToSocial – Social Media Share Buttons & Sharing Icons 100+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Eventful for Elementor – Events Showcase for The Events Calendar 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Easy Elementor Addons – Addons Pack for Elementor Page Builder 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Algori Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Widget Box Lite 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Lion Social Share — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Unstoppable Share Buttons 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.