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← Rankings

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

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 api”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

WPSSO REST API shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #9 ↑2 4 too low 6 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 G Github Embed 1K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #15 ↑9 7 too low 9 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #13 ↑9 4 too low 10 JSON API Auth 600+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #4 ↑2 6 too high 11 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #21 ↓12 10 too low 12 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too low 13 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14 CoCart – Headless REST API for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 One Click Demo Import 1M+ · 4.3★ (79) wp.org #10 ↑3 5 too high 16 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #18 ↓4 2 too low 17 Default Featured Image 50K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #23 ↓3 5 too low 19 WP Plugin Info Card – Showcase Beautiful Plugin, Theme, and GitHub Cards Anywhere 400+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #12 ↓2 8 too high 21 WPSSO REST API 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↑4 10 too high 22 MZ Mindbody API 100+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #16 ↑3 6 too high 23 Git it Write – Write posts from GitHub 100+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 REST API blocks 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.