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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “document collection”

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 “document collection”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites shows at wp.org #3 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 400+ 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

Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 616 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Document Gallery 8K+ · 4.8★ (112) wp.org #1 2 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 CatFolders Document Gallery & PDF Library 3K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #8 ↓3 3 too low 6 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #15 ↓4 8 too low 8 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 Real Media Library: Media Library Folder & File Manager 100K+ · 4.8★ (297) wp.org #13 ↓4 4 too low 10 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #16 ↑4 6 too low 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #18 ↓2 7 too low 12 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #21 ↓1 9 too low 13 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 bBlocks – Essential Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns Collection 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 ↑1 7 too high 15 Product Tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 HIPAA Compliant Forms with Drag’n’Drop HIPAA Form Builder. Sign HIPAA documents 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 Legal Pages – Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, and Cookie Notice Generator 8K+ · 4.3★ (29) wp.org #24 ↓2 7 too low 18 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19 PDF Embed Block – share documents right inside your posts 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓1 14 too high 20 FileDeck – Document Library, Download Manager & Client Portal 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓4 10 too high 21 Section Collection – Add Ready-made Sections to Design Modern Websites 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↓1 18 too high 22 PixelVault – Media Library Folders, Document Library & File Manager 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too high 23 DPD Baltic Shipping 2K+ · 2.7★ (13) wp.org #9 ↑1 14 too high 24 DriveHub – Google Drive Integration | File Manager, Image Gallery & Media Library 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 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.