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

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 “escape”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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

JSM file_get_contents() Shortcode shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ 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

Colibri Page Builder places #8 on merit, 4.4★ from 80 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94) wp.org #1 2 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #2 3 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #3 4 FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92) wp.org #4 5 Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too low 6 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 Prime Slider – Hero Slider, Carousel, WooCommerce & Post Slider Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 too low 9 WP Time Slots Booking Form 1K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 Logo Manager For Enamad – لوگوی نماد الکترونیکی 5K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 ShiftController Employee Shift Scheduling 600+ · 4.4★ (22) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 AdUnblocker 200+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14 VikAppointments Services Booking Calendar 500+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 TuriTop Booking System 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Bolt CTA Button – Floating Call Button for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 CTC Masonry Gallery 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 App for Cloudflare® 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 AEH Speed Optimization: Browser Cache, Optimized Minify, Lazy Loading & Image Optimization 2K+ · 3.2★ (20) wp.org #20 21 Preserve Code Formatting 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 JSM file_get_contents() Shortcode 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 14 too high 23 E ETH Escape HeadSpace2 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Simple Exit Notifier 100+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #19 5 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.