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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “featured article”

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 “featured article”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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 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

SNY Auto Featured Image shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 514 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 Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264) wp.org #1 2 Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 4 Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 OG — Better Share on Social Media 20K+ · 4.8★ (216) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too low 9 FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (336) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 A Add Featured Image to RSS Feed 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #4 ↓2 6 too high 11 SEO WRITING – AI Writer for SEO & AI Search 20K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher 10K+ · 4.8★ (514) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #21 ↓3 8 too low 14 SNY Auto Featured Image 1K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #5 ↓1 9 too high 15 LAPDI Featured Posts 70+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓1 9 too high 16 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (11) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 BotWriter – AI Writer & SEO Content Generator 1K+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 AI Content Creator – Easy ChatGPT powered article generator 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 Internal Linking of Related Contents 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Soro – SEO Autopilot & AI Content Writer 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Smart Auto Featured Image – Featured Image Automation 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too high 23 TextBuilder 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Grandranker 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 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.