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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “frontend dictionary”

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 “frontend dictionary”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

One Accessibility – WordPress Accessibility Plugin & ADA Compliance Widget shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 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

Poll Maker by AYS – Versus Polls, Anonymous Polls, Image Polls places #9 on merit, 4.4★ from 91 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #3 ↑2 2 too low 2 Personal Dictionary – Vocabulary Games, Memory Games 60+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Glossary 2K+ · 4.7★ (84) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 CM Tooltip Glossary 7K+ · 4.3★ (157) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Name Directory 2K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Echo Knowledge Base – Documentation, FAQs, Chat & Smart Search 10K+ · 4.9★ (124) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Heroic Glossary – Block for building Glossaries, Dictionaries and more 3K+ · 3.8★ (10) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Estatik Real Estate Plugin 10K+ · 4.6★ (187) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Poll Maker by AYS – Versus Polls, Anonymous Polls, Image Polls 6K+ · 4.4★ (91) wp.org #17 ↑1 8 too low 10 Chartify – WordPress Chart Plugin 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Markup Markdown 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #11 12 CM Search And Replace – Optimize content edits with a powerful search and replace tool 2K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Accessibility by AllAccessible 2K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #13 14 AntiSpam for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 CM Download Manager – Organize, Protect & Share Files in WordPress 100+ · 3.9★ (43) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 CM Answers – Discussion Forum Plugin for WordPress Q&A 300+ · 3.8★ (86) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Glossary Tooltip – Highlight Terms & Show Tooltips 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 NivoSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 Scry Search: Meilisearch for WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 One Accessibility – WordPress Accessibility Plugin & ADA Compliance Widget 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Rowerr Frontend Translation Editor for MemberPress — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Everyone Accessibility Suite – Free WCAG Accessibility Widget & Toolkit 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Clever Linked Terms 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Login Security with Telegram Alerts 200+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.