wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “google buzz”

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 “google buzz”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Card Elements for WPBakery shows at wp.org #2 but places #6 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #1 2

Finale Lite – Sales Countdown Timer & Discount for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (151) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Social Media Widget 30K+ · 3.9★ (84) closure risk stale but ranked wp.org #5 2 too low 4

Widgets for Yelp Reviews 3K+ · 3.8★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Diverse Solutions IDX Real Estate Listings & MLS Search 1K+ · 3.2★ (66) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Card Elements for WPBakery 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #2 4 too high 7

Socialize 200+ · 4.3★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #8 1 too low 8

WP-UserAgent 200+ · 5.0★ (5) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 5 too low 9 S Social Media Icons Widget 1K+ · 4.9★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #20 11 too low 10 E EX Kinetic Typography for Elementor — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #7 3 too high 11

HiveEO — AI Search Visibility Suite — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #9 2 too high 12

Ultimate Product Options For WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 2 too high 13

WPEForm Lite – Drag and Drop Live Form Builder for Contact, Payment & Quiz Forms 20+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #11 2 too high 14

VA Social Buzz 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #12 2 too high 15 S Social Counters 20+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 1 too low 16 P Plugin Name: Bookmark It — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 2 too low 17 B Bookmark Me 90+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 18

Keyword Difficulty Tool 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 4 too high 19 W WP Super Redes Sociais 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 4 too high 20 T Tilt Social Share Widget 300+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 S Socialvoom Buzz Feed — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 S Social Bookmark 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #19 3 too high 23 G Google+ Plus WordPress Widget 10+ · 2.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #21 2 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.