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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “front matter”

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

Simple Export to Markdown shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4699 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 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #1 2 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #5 ↑4 6 Ultimate Markdown – Markdown Editor, Importer, & Exporter 2K+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #21 ↓4 10 too low 12 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin 30K+ · 4.9★ (724) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) wp.org #16 ↑4 2 too low 15 Print My Blog – Print, PDF, & eBook Converter WordPress Plugin 8K+ · 4.8★ (115) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 Metricool – Social media and site statistics 90K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 LLM Markdown – Markdown Endpoints for AI Agents 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↓3 10 too high 18 ImagePress – Front-End Photo Uploads & Member Galleries 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Pie Calendar – Events Calendar Made Simple 1K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #20 ↑3 1 too low 20 Advanced Popups 60K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 Custom 404 Pro 7K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too high 22 Simple Export to Markdown 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓1 13 too high 23 VikRentItems Flexible Rental Management System 600+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 Mescio for Agents 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓4 6 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.