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

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 “gratitude”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 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 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

Sheet to Table Live Sync for Google Sheet shows at wp.org #3 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 200+ 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 wp.org
1 Zotpress 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #1 2 WhyDonate – FREE Donate button – Crowdfunding – Fundraising 800+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #2 3 CM Answers – Discussion Forum Plugin for WordPress Q&A 300+ · 3.8★ (86) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WPGSI: Spreadsheet Integration 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Activity Plus Reloaded for BuddyPress 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Sync Master Sheet – Product Sync with Google Sheet for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 7 G Genesis Featured Widget Amplified 2K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #20 13 too low 8 G Genesis Sandbox Featured Content Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #23 15 too low 9 Shopready – Elementor addons for WooCommerce Page Builder 100+ · 4.4★ (13) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Sheet to Table Live Sync for Google Sheet 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 A ACF: Star Rating Field 200+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 W WPMU Ldap Authentication 50+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Category Featured Images Extended 400+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 pretix widget 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Tip the Helper — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16 Free Image CDN 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 Typography Stylist 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 BIPi Schema Viewer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Scrrraps — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Easy Footer Menu — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Sales workflow Addon for EDD and AppSumo — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Hidden Word Bible Lessons — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Video on Checkout 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 StaticOptimizer 10+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.