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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “feature flags”

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 “feature flags”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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

Feature Flags shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Post Views Counter places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1237 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #1 2 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #10 7 too low 4 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #12 ↑1 8 too low 5 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #17 11 too low 7 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #14 ↑3 6 too low 9 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #13 ↑6 2 too low 12 SVG Flags – Country Flag Blocks and Galleries 2K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #2 10 too high 13 Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14 International Telephone Input With Flags And Dial Codes 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #3 11 too high 15 Phone Validator with Flags for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too low 17 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 Blocksy Companion 300K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (162) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #24 ↓13 3 too low 22 Telephone field for Elementor Forms 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too high 23 Feature Flags 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 16 too high 24 Great Feature Toggle – Feature Flags for WordPress — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 15 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.