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

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 “funny”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Price Alerts for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 10+ 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

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 491 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 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Simple YouTube Responsive 3K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Free Shipping Label and Progress Bar for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #18 ↓2 14 too low 5 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #22 17 too low 6 WinRocket Raffle and Giveaway Campaigns for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #19 12 too low 8 WC Fields Factory 7K+ · 4.3★ (168) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 AI Content Writing Assistant 600+ · 4.6★ (39) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Embed Privacy 10K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #21 ↓1 11 too low 11 Video Gallery – YouTube, Vimeo Gallery & YouTube API 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Pixobe Designer 10+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 I don't like Spam! 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Funny Text 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 ↓1 10 too high 15 Unused Shortcodes 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too low 16 Super Programmatic SEO 10+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Lyrics by Eminem 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 PingVid 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Creatus Video Player with Chapters — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Hoobert – AI Command Bar for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 BizNotes — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Price Alerts for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Smart GEO GMap 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Funny Equations 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.