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

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 “eyedropper”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 16. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Buried gem

WP Responsive Menu places #1 on merit, 4.3★ from 100 reviews, but shows at wp.org #7. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #7 6 too low 2 RobArt Colour Collector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 3 AllTerrain Photo Editor – Crop, Resize, Paint & Photo Filters 10+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Better Chat Support for Messenger 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 Qthemy Slider Builder — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Iridys Palette Extender — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Visuaro – Product Designer for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 GreetPlayer – Video Player, Video Bubble, Audio Player & Lead Capture 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 Sidcraft Page Builder w/ AI MCP — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 Axiom Blocks – Page Builder Toolkit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Sample Content for ACF — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 MantaWeb Consent Shield – Cookie Consent Banner & Real Cookie Blocker (GDPR, CCPA, Tikun 13) 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 SoftPulse Visual Page Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Kogility Image Editor for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 Better Compare – Advance Product Comparison for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 WunderPaint – The Dynamic Design and Automation Studio 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1

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.