Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “github repository”

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 “github repository”, 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

VK Link Target Controller shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4132 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #7 ↓3 4 too low 4 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too low 5 Default Featured Image 50K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too low 6 G Github Embed 1K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #3 ↑2 3 too high 7 One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #9 ↑10 1 too low 9 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Auto Upload Images 20K+ · 4.3★ (106) wp.org #14 ↑4 4 too low 11 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #20 ↓5 9 too low 12 Embed Block for GitHub 400+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #2 10 too high 13 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #18 ↓9 5 too low 14 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #22 ↓5 8 too low 15 Transliterator – Multilingual and Multi-script Text Conversion 3K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #23 ↓3 8 too low 16 Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 WP Plugin Info Card – Showcase Beautiful Plugin, Theme, and GitHub Cards Anywhere 400+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Google Analytics for WooCommerce 100K+ · 2.8★ (119) wp.org #10 ↑3 8 too high 19 Force Authentification Before Checkout for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓8 5 too high 21 Git it Write – Write posts from GitHub 100+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #13 ↑8 8 too high 22 Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481) wp.org #17 ↓3 5 too high 23 VK Link Target Controller 30K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 too high 24 WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 12 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.