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

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 “hugo”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

BP Directory Views shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 10+ 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

Responsive Lightbox & Gallery places #3 on merit, 4.9★ from 2003 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Crisp – Live Chat and AI Chatbot 20K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Log Emails 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 Responsive Lightbox & Gallery 100K+ · 4.9★ (2003) wp.org #20 ↑1 17 too low 4 Static Site Exporter 400+ · 3.5★ (12) wp.org #4 5 FormsCRM – Connect Forms to CRM directly 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Hand Talk 400+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Popular Brand Icons – Simple Icons 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #22 ↑1 15 too low 8 Client-proof Visual Editor 70+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 The Word Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 ClickTrail – UTM, Click ID & Ad Tracking (with Consent) 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 MSG LLMs TXT Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Summix GetMD 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Huu WP for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 GlotPress Notify 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 AI Summarise Button — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Portabrief — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Migratik – Migrate & Export Any WordPress Site — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 E Elbutschitos HTML Publisher — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 BP Directory Views 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 A Apointoo Capture — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Postu — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 F Floaty Book Now Chat — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Code and core Headless Fast API – Standalone, cacheable REST endpoints that skip the core load cycle — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) 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.