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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “h2”

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 “h2”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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

Ad Auto Insert H shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 900+ 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

Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 474 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Democracy Poll 6K+ · 4.6★ (86) wp.org #1 2 WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136) wp.org #2 3 P Page-list 30K+ · 4.7★ (89) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Joli Table Of Contents – Table of Contents with Gutenberg Block & Shortcode 7K+ · 4.9★ (43) wp.org #4 ↑4 5 K KIA Subtitle 7K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #9 ↑5 2 too low 8 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #19 11 too low 9 Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Animated Headline 2K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Smoothscroller 400+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 PublishPress Checklists: Pre-Publishing Approval Checklist – Validate Post Requirements 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Structured Content (JSON-LD) #wpsc 30K+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Rich Table of Contents 20K+ · 4.1★ (17) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 WP Anchor Header 300+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too high 16 YITH WooCommerce Product Add-Ons 20K+ · 3.7★ (57) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Khattat – Arabic Fonts 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 F70 Simple Table of Contents 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 BeyondSEO – AI SEO to Improve Rankings, Listings & Online Visibility 20K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Easy Testimonial Blocks – Testimonial Grid, Customer Reviews & Star Ratings 1K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Quicktags for WP 100+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 Simple Accessible Spoilers 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 Ad Auto Insert H 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 ClipCloud – Image Generation 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 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.