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← Rankings

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

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 “goodreads”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 2 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

RS Author Info Box shows at wp.org #6 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 326 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 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Novelist 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 too high 4 Options for Twenty Seventeen 8K+ · 4.8★ (57) wp.org #4 5 Listdom: AI-powered Business Directory with Classifieds Ads Listings 1K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #21 ↓1 14 too low 8 Simple Social Icons 100K+ · 4.3★ (92) wp.org #16 ↓2 8 too low 9 Social Media Widget 30K+ · 3.9★ (84) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Superb Social Media Share Buttons and Follow Buttons 6K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 MyBookTable Bookstore by Stormhill Media 1K+ · 3.8★ (41) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 Socicon 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Powerkit – Supercharge your WordPress Site 10K+ · 4.5★ (14) wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15 Popular Brand Icons – Simple Icons 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #23 ↓2 8 too low 16 RS Author Info Box 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Social Media Shortcodes 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 MRW Simplified Editor 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 RS ARC Manager – Advance Review Copy Management System 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too high 20 Share Goodreads Update 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 MentionFetch 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 threadi Now Pages — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 TograStickyElements — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.