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

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 “divided”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 2 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

Responsive Tabs For Elementor shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1K+ 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

RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 459 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Qi Addons For Elementor 200K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #3 4 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #4 5 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 Loading Page with Loading Screen 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Mortgage Calculator 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459) wp.org #24 ↓2 14 too low 11 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12 Video Gallery – YouTube Gallery, Vimeo, Video Portfolio, Image Portfolio and Image Gallery 10K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #18 ↓2 6 too low 13 Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 jQuery Post Splitter 100+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Simple Mortgage Calculator 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 too high 16 Add To Cart Button Customizations 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 Disable Unused Block Editor Blocks 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 18 Employee, Leave and Recruitment Management System – Crew HRM 100+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Next-Cart Store to WooCommerce Migration 100+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Cryptex | E-Mail Address Protection 800+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Campi Moduli Italiani 400+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Responsive Tabs For Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑1 16 too high 23 In3 On-site Messaging plug-in for WooCommerce 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 Calculate BMR and BMI 200+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓2 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.