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

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 “e”, 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

Up2pay e-Transactions WooCommerce Payment Gateway shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Manage Notification E-mails 100K+ · 4.8★ (56) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Preview E-mails for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (85) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Welcart e-Commerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 PagBank / PagSeguro e Vindi para WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (64) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Correios Automático – Rastreio, Frete, Etiqueta, Declaração e Devolução 4K+ · 5.0★ (90) wp.org #14 15 E-cab Taxi Booking Manager for Woocommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Mercado Pago payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.9★ (693) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 BjornTech Swish for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Virtuaria Correios – Frete, Etiqueta, Rastreio e Declaração 500+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #20 21 F4 Shipping Phone and E-Mail for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Up2pay e-Transactions WooCommerce Payment Gateway 4K+ · 2.3★ (13) wp.org #6 16 too high 23 Frenet Shipping Gateway for WooCommerce – Correios, Etiquetas e Rastreio 4K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Author Box & Pages for E-E-A-T Optimization 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 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.