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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “h3”

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 “h3”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.

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.

Ranked above its merit

Trusted Shops Easy Integration for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Table of Contents places #3 on merit, 4.4★ from 221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 CC Child Pages 9K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #1 2 One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #2 3 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Easy Media Download 8K+ · 4.0★ (28) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks – Easy Redirect Manager 100K+ · 3.8★ (162) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 SMNTCS Quantity Increment Buttons for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #6 7 A Attachments 8K+ · 4.8★ (53) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 WP SAML Auth 7K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Event Post 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #9 10 Latest Post Shortcode 4K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 O One Time Login 40K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 9 too high 13 Native PHP Sessions 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 Quick Download Button 1K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #14 ↑1 15 Jim Soft Swiss QR Invoice 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #15 ↑2 16 Easy Actions Scheduler Cleaner 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too low 17 Pixeline’s Email Protector 900+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Animated Headline 2K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too high 19 Trusted Shops Easy Integration for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Five-Star Ratings Shortcode 500+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 Khattat – Arabic Fonts 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 F70 Simple Table of Contents 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 Category Description for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 Cal.com 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #24

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.