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

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 “diy”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Ansar Import – One Click Starter Sites – for WordPress Themes shows at wp.org #2 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10K+ 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

LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 393 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #1 2 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Jetpack CRM – Clients, Leads, Invoices, Billing, Email Marketing, & Automation 30K+ · 4.3★ (152) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 워드프레스 결제 심플페이 – 우커머스 결제 플러그인 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Elements Hive for Breakdance 1K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Min Max Step Quantity Limits Manager for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Gratisfaction- Contests Giveaways Referral Loyalty Rewards and Birthdays Program 20+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Ansar Import – One Click Starter Sites – for WordPress Themes 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 ↑1 9 too high 12 WPC Product Quantity for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.0★ (15) wp.org #12 13 RentMy Real-Time Rental Management Plugin 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 oik 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Prodigy Commerce 20+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 CRT Addons Builder and Widgets for Elementor 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 WP Roster 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 DIY Maintenance 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Selective Image Guard | A deterrent for unauthorized downloads and scraping 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 CCA Site Health Advisor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 ProductLinker for Amazon 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Chat2 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 THiS SEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too high 24 WebP Image Converter & Replacer – Convert to WebP, No Duplicates 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #16 8 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.