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

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 “erasure”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

GDPR Compliance & Cookie Consent shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 142 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 GDPR Data Request Form 5K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #7 ↓2 3 too low 5 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #5 6 GDPR 10K+ · 4.3★ (58) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 WP Frontend Delete Account 4K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 Lenix Leads Collector 10K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 Apocalypse Meow 300+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Geeky Bot – AI Chatbot & Sales Assistant for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 Easy Invoice – Invoice Generator, PDF Quotes & Payments 600+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 GDPR Compliance & Cookie Consent 4K+ · 2.7★ (10) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 too high 18 Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓9 5 too low 19 Eventward 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 Tax Exemption for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 EU Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 Entry Manager for WPForms – Save Form Entries to Database & Export 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Email Checker for Contact Form 7 90+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #18 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.