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

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 “fax”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

RWC Team Members – Team Showcase, Staff Directory & Profiles shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10+ 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.

Buried gem

Speed Contact Bar places #4 on merit, 4.6★ from 56 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 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #1 2 Team – Team Members Showcase Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #2 3 Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin 6K+ · 5.0★ (85) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Speed Contact Bar 4K+ · 4.6★ (56) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too low 6 Team Members Showcase 4K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Chatbot for WordPress by Collect.chat ⚡️ 6K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 WPSSO Schema Organization and Place Manager 300+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Friendly Functions for Welcart 900+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Webtaru Site Options and Login Security — · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Footer Widget Bundle 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Local Business Schema Widget 20+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #12 13 Akashic Health Records Patient Portal — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Logo and Address Widget with Schema 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 S Somethumb Contact Information Widget — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 FFL Bridge for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 Simple Map Locator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 Shift8 Integration for Gravity Forms and SAP Business One — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Groundwork Common Location Finder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 B Business Profile Extra Fields 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 TograStickyElements — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 SEOPulse – SEO tools to Boost your Rankings & Traffic — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 RWC Team Members – Team Showcase, Staff Directory & Profiles 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Widget Box Lite 900+ · 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.