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

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 “enlarge”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

SmartQR Payment Gateway for BanglaQR shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 90+ 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

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities places #6 on merit, 4.6★ from 236 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #3 ↑3 2 too low 2 MetaSlider Gallery – Image Gallery, Lightbox Galleries, Video Galleries 10K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Embed Google Photos album 3K+ · 4.4★ (15) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Wishlist for WooCommerce: Multiple Wishlists per Customer 2K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.9★ (86) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Vertical Image Slider – Responsive Thumbnail Slider with Lightbox 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Justify for Paragraph Block 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 ↓1 5 too high 11 CTC Masonry Gallery 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 Real Accessibility: Accessibility Widget & Toolbar 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Personal Dictionary – Vocabulary Games, Memory Games 60+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Geo2 Maps Add-on for NextGEN Gallery 70+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #14 15 GDPR-DSGVO compliant Embeds for Google Maps 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Modal Post Images 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 SmartQR Payment Gateway for BanglaQR 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 ImageCraft – Image Optimizer, WebP/AVIF & AI Alt Text 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 4WP Smart Link 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 EDigital Accessibility Tools and Statement 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Inlarge – Inline Image Zoom 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 ThemePrime ManualPay for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 MangaFocus – Panel-by-Panel Manga Reader 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 EC Lightbox 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.