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

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 “double”, we and wp.org disagree 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

Double Youpï Refined Media Library – Media Folders, Collections & WebP shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10+ 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

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Double Opt-In for Contact Form 7 – Secure, GDPR-Compliant Email Verification 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #5 ↓3 2 too low 4 Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too low 5 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #4 ↑12 1 too high 6 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #7 ↓3 1 too low 7 Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (524) wp.org #12 ↑3 5 too low 8 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #14 ↓4 6 too low 9 Double Youpï Refined Admin Dashboard – Admin Theme with Dark Mode & Media Folders 70+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 ↑21 7 too high 10 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #8 ↓3 2 too high 11 Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284) wp.org #11 ↓5 12 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #18 ↑6 6 too low 13 Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #21 ↓9 7 too low 15 Bogo 10K+ · 4.5★ (48) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Multi Step for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 GDPR 10K+ · 4.3★ (58) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #24 ↓5 6 too low 19 Bookit — Booking & Appointment Calendar 4K+ · 3.8★ (24) wp.org #15 ↓4 4 too high 20 Add-on Brevo for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Double Youpï Refined Media Library – Media Folders, Collections & WebP 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓2 11 too high 22 Give – Double the Donation 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Double the Donation – A workplace giving tool 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24 D Double Opt-In Helper 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.