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← Rankings

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

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 “dog”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

CSV Import and Exporter shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Custom Contact Forms places #8 on merit, 3.5★ from 171 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Rename Media Files: Improve Your SEO 8K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Affiliates 2K+ · 4.5★ (137) wp.org #12 ↑1 9 too low 4 Guard Dog 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 Admin Search 1K+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Site Lockdown Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Sitelinks Search Box 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 8 Custom Contact Forms 6K+ · 3.5★ (171) wp.org #20 ↓1 12 too low 9 Antideo Email Validator 700+ · 3.5★ (14) wp.org #9 10 Search & Replace Everything by WPCode – Find and Replace Media, Text, Links, and More 20K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 OxaPay Crypto Payment Gateway: Accept Bitcoin Payments 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 List Petfinder Pets 400+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓6 5 too low 14 Spotmaniac Dog Pedigree — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Sync Mautic 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑3 1 too high 16 Smart Alt Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Cute Animals 30+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 Mevabi – Word Search Puzzle Builder 10+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 Autobute – Auto Image Alt Text, Title & Caption for Image SEO 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Smart Auto Featured Image – Featured Image Automation 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 Sendmachine for WordPress 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 Manual Dog — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 FAQ Schema Shortcode 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 CSV Import and Exporter 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 11 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.