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

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 “douban”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 16. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Algori Social Share Buttons shows at wp.org #4 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 5 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

Social Sharing Plugin – Sassy Social Share places #2 on merit, 4.8★ from 523 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Contest Gallery – Upload & Vote Photos, Media, Sell with PayPal & Stripe 1K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Social Sharing Plugin – Sassy Social Share 100K+ · 4.8★ (523) wp.org #8 6 too low 3

Professional Social Sharing Buttons, Icons & Related Posts – Shareaholic 10K+ · 4.4★ (1053) stale but ranked wp.org #9 6 too low 4

Socicon 200+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #1 3 too high 5

ShareToSocial – Social Media Share Buttons & Sharing Icons 100+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #3 2 too high 6

Custom Blocks Templates 20+ · 5.0★ (3) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #6 1 too high 8

Lion Social Share — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #5 3 too high 9

Algori Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #4 5 too high 10 D Douban Collections 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 11 W WP-Douban-Post — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #11 12 豆豆瓣秀 for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #12 13 W WordPress微博同步 — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 14 W WP-DoubanShow 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 15 P Plugin Name: 微集分插件 — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 16 W WP-Dict — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16

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.