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

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 “gatsby”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Nullify empty fields for ACF shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 70+ 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Build Trigger for Gatsby 50+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Headless Mode 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #6 3 too low 4

WPGraphQL 30K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #23 ↓2 19 too low 5

Headless REST API Security 50+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #3 2 too high 6

WPGatsby 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 7 too low 7

Content Revalidation Tracker 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #5 2 too high 8

WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 13 too low 9

AlphaListing 600+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 10 too low 10

Headless SSO Plugin for WP 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #4 7 too high 12

Frontend View For Headless CMS 100+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 8 too low 13 I Invizo Headless Mode 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #7 6 too high 14 W WPGraphQL Blocks 300+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15

Summix GetMD 10+ · 0.0★ (0) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑1 7 too high 16

SFR Book Review Showcase 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #11 5 too high 17

Headless Portfolio CMS — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too high 18

Hatch Connect – Astro Headless for Cloudflare — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #14 4 too high 19

Speedlyst – Web Speed Analytics — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #15 4 too high 20

Code and core Headless Fast API – Standalone, cacheable REST endpoints that skip the core load cycle — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #16 4 too high 21

MediaMind AI Widget — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22

WPSwings AI Popup Generator — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #18 4 too high 23

Nullify empty fields for ACF 70+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 13 too high 24

SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1

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.