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

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 “ethical”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Awin Data Feed shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #1 2 Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #2 3 Matomo Analytics – Powerful, Privacy-First Insights for WordPress 100K+ · 4.6★ (178) wp.org #3 ↑3 4 Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (61) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (162) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Web Accessibility by accessiBe 10K+ · 4.1★ (32) wp.org #7 8 Swift Switcher — Bulk & Custom Post Type Converter 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 9 Proclaimer — · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Generate Security.txt 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 5 too high 11 RSS Content Curator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 GeoAgent Optimizer Lite 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Universal Voice Search 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 GreenAudit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 I IMNRZ Live Commerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Humanify Content Grader — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too low 17 ProRank SEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Sidcraft Restaurant for Sidcraft Commerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 ST Product Review Generator 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Keyideas Jewelry Filter & Search — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 TrackWith Dicloud – Privacy-First Analytics for WordPress — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Offer Countdown Timer for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Awin Data Feed 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 Circular Arts Network — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.