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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “environment indicator”

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 “environment indicator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 18 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

Abhinavdev Environment Badge shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its — 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

Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 122 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 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #1 2 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #8 ↓2 5 too low 4 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #9 ↑5 5 too low 5 Disable All WordPress Updates 20K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Display Environment Type 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Online Active Users 2K+ · 4.7★ (51) wp.org #16 ↓4 9 too low 8 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Disk Usage Sunburst 9K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #22 ↓5 12 too low 11 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #24 ↓3 13 too low 12 CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #18 ↑6 5 too low 14 Block Manager 4K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #20 ↓4 6 too low 15 Pantheon HUD 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 365i Environment Indicator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Easy PHP Settings 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓3 4 too low 18 Webknit Environment Indicator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 3D viewer by Visody 900+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓4 5 too high 20 Agency Toolkit 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓3 9 too high 21 Performance & Security 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓2 8 too high 22 StageBar – Staging Environment Indicator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓3 10 too high 23 Abhinavdev Environment Badge — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 HPOS Status Indicator for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓4 7 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.