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

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 “guitar”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 18. 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

CyberForest Guitar Chord Sheet shows at wp.org #2 but places #7 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10+ 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

Tabby Responsive Tabs places #1 on merit, 4.9★ from 144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #7. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Tabby Responsive Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #7 6 too low 2 Layouts for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Piano Block 100+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Lewe ChordPress – ChordPro Text Formatter 100+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #4 5 Guitar Chords Widget for WordPress 90+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 6 WP Chords 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 CyberForest Guitar Chord Sheet 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Usedkit – Waitlist and Condition Grades for Used Goods — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Oli AI Chatbot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 10 Musician Press — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 Slotwise – Multi-Purpose Booking & Appointments — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Guitar Tabs 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 S SEO For Images 50+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 ChordChartWP 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 D Display Music 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 B BSTabs 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 W WP Audiofanzine News 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 J jTab Guitar Tab Shortcode 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1

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.