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

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

Ranked above its merit

Falling Things shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Brizy – Page Builder places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 972 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF 500K+ · 4.9★ (1106) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too low 6 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Confetti Fall Animation 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 8 too high 10 WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version 100K+ · 4.8★ (169) wp.org #14 ↑3 4 too low 11 S Snow Fall 60+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 9 too high 12 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 W WP Display Header 7K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104) wp.org #13 ↑4 1 too high 15 Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 40K+ · 3.8★ (119) wp.org #16 ↑7 1 too low 16 404 Solution 10K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #19 ↓4 3 too low 17 Kikote – Location Picker at Checkout & Google Address AutoFill Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (65) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Cloudways WordPress Migrator 10K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too high 19 Preferred Languages 3K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Falling Things 200+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 Media Library File Size 6K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 ingenidev, UAE – AED Currency Symbol Changer | مغير رمز عملة الدرهم الإماراتي 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↑1 1 too low 24 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 6 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.