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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “i like”

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 “i like”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

I don't like Spam! shows at wp.org #6 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 200+ 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

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4358 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 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #1 2 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Posts Like Dislike 5K+ · 4.3★ (23) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Comments Like Dislike 4K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 Easy Social Like Box – Popup – Sidebar Widget 6K+ · 4.4★ (18) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables 10K+ · 4.7★ (497) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 I Recommend This – Love/Like Button for WordPress Posts 4K+ · 4.7★ (38) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Social Like Box and Page by WpDevArt 5K+ · 4.2★ (88) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 All-in-one Like Widget 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #8 11 too high 20 Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 I Order Terms 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 I don't like Spam! 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 18 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.