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

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 “evaluation”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 7 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

WPC Estimated Delivery Date for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades places #6 on merit, 4.6★ from 572 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Statify – Extended Evaluation 20K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Multi Step Form 8K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 RepairBuddy – Repair Shop CRM & Booking Plugin for WordPress 400+ · 4.9★ (24) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Hypothesis 200+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Contact Form Generator : Creative form builder for WordPress 700+ · 4.4★ (67) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Snow Monkey Blocks 30K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Bubuku Media Library 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Flexmls® IDX Plugin 1K+ · 3.5★ (22) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 WebTotem Security 700+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 CatalogX Product Catalog, Product Enquiry & Quotes for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (60) wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 CopySafe PDF Protection – Copy Protect PDF 300+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 TotalSurvey for Survey, Quiz and Form 500+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Course Booking System 80+ · 3.8★ (13) wp.org #19 20 WPC Estimated Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Set Price Note (Units, Offers, Editions) for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 ESM Consumer Evaluation — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Product Fees for WooCommerce 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Funbutler Booking System 100+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.