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

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 “hardware”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

Duo Universal shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 373 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 too high 6 Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Off-Canvas Sidebars & Menus (Slidebars) 1K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 Image Photo Gallery Final Tiles Grid 20K+ · 4.7★ (353) wp.org #8 ↓2 9 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Database Backup for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 WebAuthn Provider for Two Factor 2K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #7 ↑1 5 too high 13 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Search with Typesense 700+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Secure Passkeys 2K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #15 16 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Flow-Flow Social Streams 7K+ · 3.3★ (100) wp.org #21 ↓2 4 too low 18 WP-WebAuthn 2K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Printus – Automatic Cloud Order Printing for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 PayPal POS for WooCommerce 4K+ · 3.5★ (21) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Advanced Marquee Effect for Elementor – Smooth Marquee, News Ticker, Image Box & Icon Box Marquee 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Serious Slider 20K+ · 3.4★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓3 1 too low 23 Duo Universal 2K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 Floating Minicart for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.6★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.