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

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 “hatena”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 8 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

MW WP Hacks shows at wp.org #16 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Scriptless Social Sharing places #3 on merit, 5.0★ from 70 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 signals wp.org

AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) heavy footprint wp.org #2 1 too low 2

VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Scriptless Social Sharing 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #7 4 too low 4

Pz-LinkCard 20K+ · 5.0★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Custom Blocks Templates 20+ · 5.0★ (3) heavy footprintclosure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #9 3 too low 7

Simple Share Follow Button 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #5 2 too high 8

HametuPack 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #4 4 too high 9

SKY Blocks — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #6 3 too high 10

Simple Share 10+ · 4.8★ (4) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 7 too low 11

SNS Count Cache 7K+ · 4.0★ (4) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #11 12

Keitai Emoji — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #8 4 too high 13

block-wpscan 10+ · 5.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 1 too low 14

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.