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

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

Webcam Microphone Screen Recorder – Media Capture shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Music Player for WooCommerce places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 61 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 Videopack 10K+ · 4.8★ (63) wp.org #1 2 CP Media Player – Audio Player and Video Player 3K+ · 4.4★ (46) wp.org #2 3 Magic Product Video for WooCommerce – Self-Hosted Product Video Gallery 20+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #3 ↑5 4 Music Player for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Auto Featured Image (Auto Generated) 200+ · 3.6★ (7) wp.org #5 ↓2 6 Enable Mastodon Apps 500+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7 Video Share VOD – Turnkey Video Site Builder Script 60+ · 2.3★ (12) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Paid Videochat Turnkey Site – HTML5 PPV Live Webcams 10+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Music Player for Easy Digital Downloads 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 Broadcast Live Video – Live Streaming : WebRTC, HLS, RTSP, RTMP 400+ · 2.7★ (14) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 Flux Media Optimizer – Image & Video Optimization by Flux Plugins 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Castio.live – WordPress Streaming Plugin with Chat (HLS) 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Photo & Video Reviews for WooCommerce — PVR Media Reviews — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Polanger VideoHub – Build Your Own Video Platform 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too high 15 Scrollzee – Video Scroll 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Etchenet Scroll Video Background Builder 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 ListenUp 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Reloadify Frontend Sync – Auto Reload, Server & Media Optimization — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 mwangip Video Captions — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Webcam Microphone Screen Recorder – Media Capture 30+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓3 8 too high 21 Sonoquill – AI Podcast Production — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 ArgentWolf Video Processor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 Pewit AI Image Optimizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 ClipRoost — · 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.