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

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 “formatter”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 of the top 20. 2 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

Tussendoor – Open RDW shows at wp.org #8 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics places #6 on merit, 3.7★ from 2408 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 OttoKit: All-in-One Automation Platform 90K+ · 4.9★ (124) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 AutomatorWP – No-Code Workflow Automation, Integration & Webhooks Plugin, now with AI 6K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Snow Monkey Editor 30K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included 40K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Lewe ChordPress – ChordPro Text Formatter 100+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #13 7 too low 7 BPOTech Text Formatter with TinyMCE — · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 HuxxConnect – REST API Connector for WordPress 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Query All The Post Types 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Fluent PDF Generator 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12 Weaver Xtreme Theme Support 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1 12 too low 13 Tussendoor – Open RDW 400+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Agentic Optimization – SEO for AI Agents 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 TheLaTeXLab – Citations & Bibliography 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 AiutoComputerHelp Live Request Monitor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 jsonyo — JSON Toolkit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Live Sales for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too high 19 Assist Store — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 Doohickey's Dev Tools — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 KROK LLMs Transit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 Format JSON Online — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 Zaplane – AI Agent Automation & Workflow Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 NPATI Content Automation — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 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.