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

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 “dump”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

Advance Custom HTML – Show Off Code Snippets with Live Preview shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Document Gallery places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 112 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP Console – WordPress PHP Console powered by PsySH 20K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Customizer Export/Import 100K+ · 4.8★ (115) wp.org #3 4 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #4 ↑3 5 WP-DBManager 50K+ · 4.4★ (95) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 SEO Data Transporter 2K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Backup, Restore and Migrate your sites with XCloner 10K+ · 4.2★ (129) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Brozzme DB Prefix & Tools Addons 9K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too high 9 WP Cassify 900+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10 Document Gallery 8K+ · 4.8★ (112) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Import Export Menu 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Import WP – CSV & XML Import Export for WordPress 4K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 UiChemy – Convert Figma, Prompts and AI Builds to Elementor, Gutenberg and Bricks 8K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14 Ray 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Keep Backup Daily 200+ · 4.4★ (45) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 Variable Inspector 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Revision Manager TMC 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 F FG Fix Serialized Strings 100+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 CMS ADMINS Security Check Report 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Studio Modules for Divi | Divi Studio Lite 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 I InstaMigrate 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 RVS Database Doctor 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Advance Custom HTML – Show Off Code Snippets with Live Preview 10K+ · 2.5★ (4) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Post/Page Import Export – Migrate Content with Custom Fields & Taxonomies 400+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓4

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.