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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “file checker”

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 “file checker”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 5 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

Unused Media Checker shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ 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

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2617 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 File Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (202) wp.org #3 4 Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker – WCAG, ADA, EAA and Section 508 compliance 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts 200K+ · 5.0★ (1221) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Link Checker 4K+ · 3.2★ (30) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Unique Title Checker 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Editoria11y Accessibility Checker 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 PHP Compatibility Checker 200K+ · 2.7★ (131) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 40K+ · 4.0★ (36) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 iNext Woo Pincode Checker 600+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 BD Courier Order Ratio Checker 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Integrity Checker 200+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Unused Media Checker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Dead Link Checker – SEO and 404 error Fix 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Web Accessibility Toolkit – Accessibility Checker & ARIA for WCAG, Section 508 & ADA Compliance 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.