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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dislike button”

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 “dislike button”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 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

Advanced FAQ Manager shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 149 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 Comments Like Dislike 4K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #1 2 Posts Like Dislike 5K+ · 4.3★ (23) wp.org #2 3 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #4 5 Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Stars Rating 1K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page 20K+ · 4.5★ (149) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Disable Block Editor FullScreen mode 1K+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Post Engagement – Like Dislike, Share, Views, Star Rating, Favorites & Copy Posts 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Audio Player Block – Advanced Block for Embedding Audio Files 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Super Video player – Fully Customizable Video Player with Playlist 2K+ · 4.2★ (30) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Chart Block – Visualize Data with Bar, Line, Pie Charts 1K+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Panorama – Turn Photos into Immersive Virtual Tours 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Parallax Section Block – Add Parallax Scrolling Effects to Sections 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Wishlist for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Advanced FAQ Manager 2K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Countdown Timer Block – build urgency for events and launches 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Pricing Table – Block – Show Product or Service Pricing in Table Format 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Pro Like Button 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 Header Promo – grab attention with a top bar announcement 400+ · 4.0★ (2) 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.