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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “email notifier”

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 “email notifier”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Post Publish Email Notifier shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 50+ 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

MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 432 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #1 2 WP Updates Notifier 20K+ · 4.2★ (35) wp.org #2 3 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Broken Link Notifier 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 MoreConvert Wishlist for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Comment Notifier 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Waitlist Woocommerce ( Back in stock notifier ) 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) wp.org #22 ↓2 12 too low 11 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Comment Approved Notifier Extended 500+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 Post Status Notifier Lite 700+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Notifima – WooCommerce Stock Manager, Inventory Management, Waitlist 2K+ · 4.4★ (46) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 SiteCare – Search Engine Visibility 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 U User Login Notifier for WordPress 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Taskbuilder – Project Management & Task Management Tool With Kanban Board 700+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 AdMail – Multilingual Back in-Stock Notifier for WooCommerce 90+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Post Publish Email Notifier 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 14 too high 20 Missed Schedule Post Publisher 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 B Beltoft In-Stock Notifier for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 CFDB Form Notifier 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Error Notifier for Slack 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Spam Notifier 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑3 5 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.