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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “footer shortcode”

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

Footer Copyright shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ 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

Shortcoder — Create Shortcodes for Anything places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 227 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #1 2 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #4 5 Head, Footer and Post Injections 200K+ · 4.9★ (735) wp.org #5 6 Shortcode in Menus 50K+ · 4.7★ (82) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Snippet Shortcodes 3K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Shortcoder — Create Shortcodes for Anything 100K+ · 4.9★ (227) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #13 ↑4 2 too low 12 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too low 15 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #16 ↓4 17 Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214) wp.org #23 ↓4 6 too low 18 Header Footer for Beaver Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #19 ↑2 1 too low 19 Easy Bootstrap Shortcode 6K+ · 4.0★ (50) wp.org #21 ↓6 2 too low 20 Current Year Shortcode VICT 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Footer Copyright 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 CM Header and Footer – Add custom scripts and styles to your header and footer with ease 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 Five-Star Ratings Shortcode 500+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #20 ↑3 3 too high 24 Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme 80K+ · 2.1★ (7) 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.