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

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 “gov”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 2 of the top 14. 3 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

merit plugin signals wp.org

BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #1 2

Dynamic Post – AI Content – White Paper – Peer Review – Tax & Accounting Sites 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #2 1 too high 4

RankAI — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 1 too high 5

GoalPrevail Stock Image Importer — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Aluleth SMTP — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #5 1 too high 7 C Category Country Aware WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (3) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8

Advanced Email Domain Restriction 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9

Sky SEO – SEO Bulk Editor & Automation, GEO, AI internal Linking, LLM.txt, Schema & More 40+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 10

Archivarix Broken Links Recovery 200+ · 4.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11

Autofilll HKGov Address For WC — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 F Faceted Search Widget 10+ · 3.7★ (3) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13

Azores Gov Banner 30+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14

Soldi Pubblici — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 1 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.