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

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 notes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Frontend File Upload shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 60+ 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

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #1 2 WCFM – Frontend Manager for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (286) wp.org #2 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Frontend Dashboard 500+ · 4.9★ (136) wp.org #4 5 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Frontend User Notes 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #21 11 too low 11 Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Views for WPForms – Display & Edit WPForms Entries on your site frontend 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Speculative Loading 70K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Site Notes: Site Feedback, Site Notes with Sitewide Visual Commenting 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 CBX Changelog & Release Note 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Set Price Note (Units, Offers, Editions) for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Frontend File Upload 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 14 too high 23 Picture Gallery – Frontend Uploads & Image Editor 400+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 A Airy Frontend Forms 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.