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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “grey mode”

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 “grey mode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Grey Rock Block Synchroniser for Wordfence and Cloudflare shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10+ 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.

Buried gem

Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes places #6 on merit, 4.6★ from 251 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 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #1 2 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #2 3 Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too low 4 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too low 5 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too low 6 Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 50K+ · 3.7★ (59) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Footnotes Made Easy 2K+ · 4.6★ (40) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too low 9 CookieBoxs – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent & Google Consent Mode v2 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 Flexible Editor Panel for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (74) wp.org #18 ↓1 8 too low 11 Dark Reader – Beautiful Dark Mode for any Website 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Real3D Flipbook – 3D Flipbook, PDF Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 10K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too high 13 Double Youpï Refined Admin Dashboard – Admin Theme with Dark Mode & Media Folders 70+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 Reviews Feed – Add Testimonials and Customer Reviews From Google Reviews, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and More 100K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Maintenance Switch 800+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 GutSlider – All in One Slider and Carousel Blocks for Gutenberg 6K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Grey Rock Block Synchroniser for Wordfence and Cloudflare 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 DesignSetGo 8K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 Mawu Dark Mode for the Admin Dashboard, Editor & Website 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 14 too high 21 Create with Code 300+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Accessible Carousel & Slider – WCAG AA Compliant Slideshow 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Vartable for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 SpreadsheetConverter Calculator 500+ · 2.5★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 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.