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← Rankings

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

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 “emissions”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Shipping Guard – Advanced Shipping Suite, Weight Based Shipping, Zero Emission & Protection shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its — installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 186 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WebP Express 300K+ · 4.4★ (162) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Gelato Integration for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WP DPE-GES 600+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #24 20 too low 5 Markdown for Agents and Statistics 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 EuroStocks 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 ImmoWP Diagnostic DPE GES 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 P PayGreen Payment Gateway 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Carbonfooter 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Website Carbon Calculator 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Lazy Embed 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Deny All Firewall 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Gobuddy – The smart delivery solution 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 Ravioli for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 carbon.txt, DIST Schema & CSRD Reports for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 PressPrimer Assignment – Homework Submission, Document Viewer & LMS Grading Workflows 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 GreenTrace Carbon Rating Badge and Reports — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18 Australcode Facturación Electrónica SII & Stock for Bsale — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 Merchr Print on Demand UK 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 FactuPress – Duplicate Orders for PDF Invoices — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 GreenAudit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Shipping Guard – Advanced Shipping Suite, Weight Based Shipping, Zero Emission & Protection — · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑1 10 too high 23 RE-ZIP Packaging for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 ProRank SEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.