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

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 “holidays”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Business Hours & Holiday Schedule Manager shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ 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

Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 270 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 WP Simple Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.8★ (227) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #11 ↓5 7 too low 5 Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (189) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Holiday Mode for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Booking Package 10K+ · 4.0★ (15) wp.org #5 ↑13 3 too high 9 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #23 ↓1 14 too low 10 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) wp.org #22 ↓1 12 too low 11 Salon Booking System – Appointment Booking for Salons, Barbershops & Spas 2K+ · 4.4★ (187) wp.org #13 ↓5 2 too low 12 Contact Form by Supsystic – Drag & Drop Form Builder with Templates & Form Statistics 6K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #20 ↓2 8 too low 13 Gift Wrapper for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too low 14 Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Order Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16 Estimated Delivery for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too high 17 Super Advent Calendar 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↑4 5 too high 18 Rs Christmas Trees – Holiday Decorations, Christmas Garlands & Falling Snow Effect 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 WPC Estimated Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 too high 20 Business Hours & Holiday Schedule Manager 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 רב מסר – תוסף הטפסים (Responder) 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Date Picker For Contact Form 7 4K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓12 2 too low 23 Rs Christmas Santa – Snowfall, Christmas Lights, Holiday Music, Flying Sleigh & Countdown 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑3 2 too high 24 WooCommerce Analytics 20K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓2 5 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.