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

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 “earth”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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.

Buried gem

Leaflet Maps Marker (Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps) places #3 on merit, 4.6★ from 244 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 wp.org
1 Flexible Map 7K+ · 4.8★ (66) wp.org #1 2 LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Leaflet Maps Marker (Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps) 9K+ · 4.6★ (244) wp.org #8 ↓2 5 too low 4 C Content Fetcher 200+ · 3.2★ (6) wp.org #4 5 Miniature Earth — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Listdom KML Addon – Display KML Layers 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 ↑4 1 too high 7 Flavor – Restaurant Menu & Table Reservations 100+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 Wow Sliders Addons for Elementor 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 Gutenberg Block Toolkit – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓2 10 WordSec – Malware Scanner & Removal, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and 2FA 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑5 6 too low 11 Uplink Analytics Dashboard for Cabin 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 MatrixMap – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Store Locator & World Maps 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 SDAweb Calendar Sync for Google Calendar 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 GlobeProof – 3D Customer & Review Globe for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 EthereumICO 10+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 FlexyConsent – Cookie Consent Management (GDPR, CCPA, IAB TCF) 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 ProofShield — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 Nine Star Ki 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Chinese horoscope 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Chauffeur Booking 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 Mars Sol Date — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Currency.Wiki World Clock – Time Zones & Clock Widget — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑2 23 A Astro Zodiac Widget — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Planet Pop — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.