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← Rankings

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

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 “freshness”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Auto Update Post Date shows at wp.org #5 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Import Social Events places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 116 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 bbp style pack 6K+ · 4.9★ (100) wp.org #1 2 Prevent Browser Caching 10K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #2 3 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 30K+ · 4.6★ (683) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too low 4 Content Update Scheduler 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Import Social Events 3K+ · 4.8★ (116) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 B bbp last post 200+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 GD bbPress Tools 1K+ · 3.8★ (24) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 XT Event Widget for Social Events 800+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 RightBlogger – AI SEO Agent & Autoblogging 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Auto Update Post Date 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Turnkey bbPress by WeaverTheme 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 Chameleon 200+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 RankReady – AI SEO, Schema, llms.txt, AEO and GEO for ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity 500+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓4 5 too low 16 SocraNext 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 RSS Retriever Lite 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18 GEO Optimizer Lite 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Freshtag – Last Modified Info & Timestamp, Detect Old Content, Boost SEO 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Tidy Posts 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 DateSweep – Bulk Update Post & Page Dates 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑2 5 too high 22 Weblix Analytics – Real-Time Stats & Visitor Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too high 23 NexPilot – Content Freshness & Review Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Auditizer – AI Website Audit & Optimization 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.