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

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 “energy”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 10K+ 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

Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 973 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Ocean Modal Window 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #1 ↑2 1 too high 3 CartBounty – Save and recover abandoned carts for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 WPCasa – Real Estate for WordPress 1K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too high 5 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #9 ↑7 4 too low 6 WP All Import – Product Import for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (276) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too low 7 WPSSO Core – Complete Schema Markup and Meta Tags 4K+ · 4.6★ (306) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #19 ↑4 11 too low 9 Cost Calculator Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (393) wp.org #15 ↑4 6 too low 10 Ninja Tables – Easy Data Table Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (472) wp.org #17 ↓7 7 too low 11 Nobs • Share Buttons 3K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12 Ocean Extra 400K+ · 3.3★ (67) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 Hide Dashboard Notifications 20K+ · 3.9★ (33) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Layouts for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 immonex Kickstart 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 Gridable 4K+ · 2.9★ (10) wp.org #8 ↑1 8 too high 17 Sweet Energy Efficiency 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 ↓1 12 too high 18 Solid Performance – Your No-Code Caching, Performance, & Page Speed Solution 4K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 11 too high 19 Daisycon prijsvergelijkers 400+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20 Pixel Gallery Addons for Elementor 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 WPSSO Google Merchant Feed XML 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑1 16 too high 23 Amazing Affiliates – Toolkit for Amazon Associates with Amazon Product Blocks and Amazon PAAPI5 / Creators API integration 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24 ImmoWP Diagnostic DPE GES 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑3 6 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.