Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “dilemma”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 5 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

Awesome Wp Photo Gallery shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 80+ 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

BlogVault Backup & Staging places #3 on merit, 4.6★ from 332 reviews, but shows at wp.org #7. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Product Size Charts Plugin for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.3★ (39) wp.org #1 2 Ticket Tailor — Event Ticketing & Registration 4K+ · 4.3★ (46) wp.org #2 3 BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Simple Comment Editing 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 GIFT4U – Gift Cards All in One for Woo 200+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Seven Digits Dilemmas — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 SpeedSize Image & Video AI-Optimizer 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 NeoLite – Disable Reviews, Comments & Spam for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Quentn WP 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Awesome Wp Mixitup Portfolio 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 16Deza Block Curator 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 DBlocks CodePro 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 C CB Lost Password Remover 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Awesome Wp Widget Newsticker 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Profile Master 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 PW Canvas — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Wp Blog News 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 AM Barclay ePDQ Payment Gateway 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Wp Service Box 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 W wpscolor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Awesome responsive slider 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Infinite Notification – Sales Notification Plugin 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Awesome Wp Photo Gallery 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Simple Wp Mixitup Portfolio — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.