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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “editorial comments”

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 “editorial comments”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 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 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

Really Simple Disable Comments shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 124 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #1 2 PublishPress Planner – Editorial Calendar, Marketing Content, Kanban Board 6K+ · 4.9★ (178) wp.org #2 3 Nelio Content – Editorial Calendar & Social Media Auto-Posting 3K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #3 4 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Edit Flow 4K+ · 4.2★ (50) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Editorial Rating – Product Review & Rating System 200+ · 4.4★ (13) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #20 11 too low 10 Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks – Easy Redirect Manager 100K+ · 3.8★ (162) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Oasis Workflow 600+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Multicollab: Content Team Collaboration and Editorial Workflow 300+ · 3.7★ (10) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Missed Schedule Post Publisher 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Really Simple Disable Comments 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Editorial Workflow Manager 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Editorial Blocks – Magazine & News Post Grid Blocks 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Jumplinks Flow – Client Feedback & Editorial Workflow — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 B Better Comments 10+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Fabrica Dashboard 60+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.