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

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 “essay”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

WP Voting Contest Lite shows at wp.org #2 but places #6 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 205 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Chained Quiz 1K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #1 2 Watu Quiz 3K+ · 4.7★ (137) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 PowerPack for LearnDash 1K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 WP Voting Contest Lite 400+ · 3.1★ (15) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Social Boost: Giveaways, Instant win and Contests. Grow followers, shares, subscribers, traffic, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Creator LMS – WordPress LMS Plugin for Coaches, Cohorts & Course Creators 100+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Photo Contest | Competition | Video Contest 200+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Easy Dash for LearnDash 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Sheet Music Libary 100+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Acadlix LMS – AI Quiz Maker, Online Exam & Course Plugin for WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13 TCE Assignments Tools — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Easy Booked – Appointment Booking and Scheduling Management System for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 PressPrimer Assignment – Homework Submission, Document Viewer & LMS Grading Workflows 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too high 16 ClassPress – Classroom & School Management Plugin for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 CourseGlade LMS – Online Course & eLearning Platform 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Scheduled Posts Showcase 30+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 LDAQ AI Question Builder for LearnDash — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Pipe Audio Video and Screen Recorder 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Turgor Exam Engine — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 Plugixa Exam – Online Exams, Live Monitoring, Quizzes & Certificates — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 ReadBar – Smart Reading Time & Dynamic Progress Bar — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Sikshya LMS – LMS Course Builder, Online Courses & eLearning 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.