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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “global insert”

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 “global insert”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 6 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

Global Body Mass Index Calculator shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Page Builder by SiteOrigin places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1005 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #1 2 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #2 3 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 WP Coder – Insert & Manage Code Snippets 10K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #9 10 Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #11 12 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (79) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Custom Product tabs for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 WP Ultimate Review 60K+ · 3.4★ (17) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 WPC Product Options for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 WPC Product Size Chart for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Global Body Mass Index Calculator 30+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #15 9 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.