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

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

WP Heart Throb shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10+ 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

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 701 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #1 2 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #2 3 Comments Like Dislike 4K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #3 4 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too low 6 Posts Like Dislike 5K+ · 4.3★ (23) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 WP GPX Maps 4K+ · 4.1★ (59) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Weather Effect 4K+ · 4.5★ (30) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Image Widget 100K+ · 4.9★ (287) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (133) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Kraken.io Image Optimizer – Compress, Convert to WebP & AVIF, Resize & Bulk Optimize 10K+ · 4.5★ (119) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 WPComplete 1K+ · 4.1★ (43) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 WPCasa – Real Estate for WordPress 1K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 PayPal POS for WooCommerce 4K+ · 3.5★ (21) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Vision – Interactive Image Map with Hotspots Builder 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Uix Shortcodes 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 MLSImport: IDX Plugin & MLS Plugin for Real Estate Listings 5K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 WP Heart Throb 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 QODE Wishlist for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 23 Animation Builder – An interface for adding scroll-triggered animations 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Shopkeeper Extender 7K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.