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

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 “genesis”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Genesis Portfolio Pro shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 1221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Genesis eNews Extended 40K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #1 2 Genesis Blocks 40K+ · 3.7★ (24) wp.org #2 3 Genesis Simple Hooks 20K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #3 4 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Genesis Custom Blocks 10K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Genesis Simple Share 10K+ · 4.4★ (33) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #16 ↓2 9 too low 8 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Genesis Simple Sidebars 10K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Genesis Connect for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.1★ (17) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts 200K+ · 5.0★ (1221) wp.org #23 ↓2 11 too low 13 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14 WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Genesis Simple Menus 2K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too low 17 Fullwidth Templates for Any Theme & Page Builder 20K+ · 4.7★ (42) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Osom Author Pro 1K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too high 19 Genesis Widget Column Classes 5K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #11 ↑12 8 too high 20 Add Featured Image Column 3K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 Genesis Portfolio Pro 5K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 Ads for Genesis 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑6 10 too high 23 Genesis Beta Tester 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓2 9 too high 24 Genesis Taxonomy Images 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓4 3 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.