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

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 request”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

Simple Feature Requests Free – User Feedback Board shows at wp.org #4 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 GDPR Data Request Form 5K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #2 3 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #10 7 too low 4 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #12 ↓3 8 too low 5 NP Quote Request for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.6★ (87) wp.org #7 ↓3 2 too low 6 ELEX WooCommerce Request a Quote 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #14 ↓5 7 too low 8 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 PiWeb Cancel order / Refund request for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (39) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Changeloger – Changelog, Release Notes, Roadmap & Feature Requests 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #3 ↓1 7 too high 11 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #22 ↓4 11 too low 12 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #18 ↓3 6 too low 13 Simple Feature Requests Free – User Feedback Board 100+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #4 ↓1 9 too high 14 YITH Request a Quote for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (66) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 Request a Quote for WooCommerce – Get a Quote Button 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 HTTP Requests Manager 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 ↓3 6 too high 18 Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 IdeaPush 700+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too high 20 Turn Off AI Features 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Multicollab: Content Team Collaboration and Editorial Workflow 300+ · 3.7★ (10) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Product Feature Request 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 WPC Request a Quote for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 GoPrayer 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓3 5 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.