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

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 “hop”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

Link Diagnostics – Broken Links, Redirects, and Link Insights shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 50+ 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

MP3 Audio Player – Music Player, Podcast Player & Radio by Sonaar places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 302 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Logic Hop – Dynamic Content Personalization for WordPress 70+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #1 2 Coupon Shortcodes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Visibility – Lightweight SEO, AEO and GEO for Search and AI 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Vietnam Checkout for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 MP3 Audio Player – Music Player, Podcast Player & Radio by Sonaar 20K+ · 4.8★ (302) wp.org #14 9 too low 6 AIO Tools (All in One Tools) 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Convesio Convert – WooCommerce Email Marketing Automation with Website Personalization, Popups and Forms 80+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #21 ↑1 14 too low 8 Easy Demo Importer – A Modern One-Click Demo Import Solution 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 BeerXML Shortcode 100+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #22 ↑1 13 too low 10 Nút Bấm Liên Hệ Dibrother 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Mobile App Canvas – Convert your Website Into an App for iOS and Android 200+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 ↑2 5 too low 12 Fail2WP 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 L Link Hopper 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 payOS 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 SGDIEN Contact Footer 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 All-in-one contact buttons – WPSHARE247 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Link Diagnostics – Broken Links, Redirects, and Link Insights 50+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 too high 18 Redirect Cleanup 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 Wanderlust HOP Envios 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 DevDome Link Monitor: Broken Link Checker, Dead Link Checker, Broken Link Finder 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too high 21 DevDome Redirect Manager: Link Rotator, Geo Redirect & 302 Redirect 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too high 22 BotPenguin – Generative AI Chatbot with Live Chat & ChatGPT 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 LearnPress – Sepay Payment 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too high 24 DevDome Affiliate Manager: Amazon Affiliate Plugin for Amazon Associates 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.