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

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

Emoji Toolbar shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 2107 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 D Disable Emojis (GDPR friendly) 60K+ · 5.0★ (108) wp.org #1 2 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #16 ↑4 11 too low 6 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #17 ↓6 10 too low 8 Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) wp.org #20 ↓3 12 too low 9 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #18 ↑1 9 too low 10 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #11 ↑4 1 too low 11 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Advanced Woo Labels – Product Labels & Badges for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (64) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Emoji Settings 2K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too low 15 Compressed Emoji 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↑1 9 too high 16 Web Push Notifications – Webpushr 10K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 WPS Bidouille 9K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 Comment Emojis for WP 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 Instant Emoji Reactions 100+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 LWS Optimize – All-in-One Speed Booster & Cache Tools 20K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Emoji Toolbar 2K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 14 too high 22 Remove WP Emojis — Correctly 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Remoji – Post/Comment Reaction and Enhancement 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 T TGG – WP Optimizer 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 3 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.