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

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 “discourse”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 17. 1 plugin is 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

SimpleSocial shows at wp.org #11 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 100+ 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.

Buried gem

SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 171 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

WP Discourse 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Shift8 CDN 500+ · 4.4★ (40) wp.org #3 4

SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171) wp.org #9 ↓2 5 too low 5

AiVOOV – Realistic Text to Speech & AI Voice Generator Online 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #4 2 too high 7

PrimeTime WordPress + Discourse SSO 10+ · 5.0★ (6) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8

DIG Local SEO & AI Post Booster — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #5 3 too high 9

Postquarry — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10

TIP Protocol — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11

Lnk.Bio 200+ · 4.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #8 3 too high 12

Answers Pai — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 13

GoldT WebMCP Bridge 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 14

SynaPost – AI Content, SEO & Publishing Automation for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 15

SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 E Enhanced Publication 10+ · 4.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17

Discourse Widgets 10+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 2 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.