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

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 “hire”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 7 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.

E

Ranked above its merit

ESTO payment methods shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 600+ 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

Slider by Soliloquy – Responsive Image Slider for WordPress places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 1025 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #3 4 Fast Velocity Minify 30K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 easy.jobs – AI powered Job Listing, Job Board, Career Page, Recruitment & Hiring Solution 4K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) wp.org #8 ↑4 1 too low 8 Slider by Soliloquy – Responsive Image Slider for WordPress 30K+ · 4.7★ (1025) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Pressable Automated Migration 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #10 11 WP Call Button – Easy Click to Call Button for WordPress 40K+ · 4.7★ (69) wp.org #23 ↓1 12 too low 12 B BuddyPress Xprofile Custom Field Types 3K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 Live Summary for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 WP Job Portal – AI-Powered Recruitment System for Company or Job Board website 8K+ · 4.3★ (32) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 WP-Stateless – Google Cloud Storage 4K+ · 3.9★ (51) wp.org #14 ↑3 1 too high 16 Montonio for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #9 ↓2 7 too high 17 WP Post Series 600+ · 4.7★ (9) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 Dynamic Team Manager – Team Member Showcase with grid, slider, table Elementor widget & shortcode 900+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Disable Bulk Smush Limit of Smush Image Optimization 3K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Discontinued Product Stock Status for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Hire Me Widget 20+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22 Breadcrumb based on URL 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Portfolio Block – The Ultimate Project & Portfolio Builder 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 E ESTO payment methods 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓2 13 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.