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← Rankings

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

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 “globe”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Interactive Globes – 3D World Maps shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Sprout Invoices – Client Invoicing & Estimates places #10 on merit, 4.4★ from 191 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 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Globe Visitors Counter 70+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Sequential Order Number for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.9★ (146) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #7 8 Comments Import & Export 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #14 ↑4 5 too low 10 Sprout Invoices – Client Invoicing & Estimates 1K+ · 4.4★ (191) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization 9K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 Jetpack VideoPress 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Newsletters, Email Marketing, SMS and Popups by Omnisend 100K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #19 ↑2 5 too low 15 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 Mapster WP Maps 3K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too low 17 Product Import Export for WooCommerce – CSV Product Importer & Exporter 80K+ · 4.6★ (413) wp.org #20 ↑3 3 too low 18 WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19 Interactive Globes – 3D World Maps 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 14 too high 20 mPDF add-on for RTL and Unicode Support 4K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Related Products – Create Upsells, Cross-sells, and Product Recommendations for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 WhyDonate – FREE Donate button – Crowdfunding – Fundraising 800+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 ImageKit – URL based image manipulation and optimization 1K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 Payoneer Checkout 5K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #10 14 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.