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← Rankings

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

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 “distribution”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

Press Release Distribution shows at wp.org #2 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 600+ 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

Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 1581 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Instapage Plugin 4K+ · 4.8★ (218) wp.org #14 ↓2 9 too low 6 CDN Enabler 10K+ · 4.1★ (51) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Co-Authors Plus 20K+ · 3.5★ (77) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #12 ↓4 3 too low 10 Recipe Card Blocks Lite 10K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 BeyondWords – AI audio for publishers 800+ · 3.6★ (27) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 WPAdmin AWS CDN 400+ · 4.7★ (53) wp.org #22 ↓3 10 too low 13 B BuddyPress Docs 6K+ · 4.4★ (35) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 APCu Manager 10K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too high 15 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #20 ↑1 5 too low 16 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 Press Release Distribution 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 15 too high 18 Pinterest for WooCommerce 200K+ · 2.3★ (68) wp.org #6 ↑1 12 too high 19 DPD SK for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 too high 20 Autover 800+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Country Based Restrictions for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (52) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Weaver Xtreme Theme Support 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Deliver via Shipos for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 NPR Content Distribution Service 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 5 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.