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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ical feed”

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 “ical feed”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Easy Events Calendar : All-in-One Events Calendar with Social Event, Eventbrite, Meetup, Google & iCal Import Support shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SportsPress – Sports Club & League Manager places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 369 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #1 2 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #2 3 VS Event List 8K+ · 4.9★ (82) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Events Made Easy 1K+ · 4.6★ (111) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Event Organiser 20K+ · 4.6★ (140) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 WP Event Aggregator: Import Eventbrite events, Meetup events, social events and any iCal Events into Event Calendar 1K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Booking Activities 3K+ · 5.0★ (121) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 Import Social Events 3K+ · 4.8★ (116) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 SportsPress – Sports Club & League Manager 10K+ · 4.7★ (369) wp.org #21 ↓3 12 too low 10 Hydrogen Calendar Embeds 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #4 ↓1 6 too high 11 Nelio Content – Editorial Calendar & Social Media Auto-Posting 3K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #19 ↑1 8 too low 12 Appointment Booking Calendar 1K+ · 4.2★ (92) wp.org #18 ↓2 6 too low 13 XT Event Widget for Social Events 800+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too low 14 Termin-Kalender 500+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Import Meetup Events – Meetup Sync & Event Aggregator for WordPress 300+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #23 ↓4 8 too low 16 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Host Domination Booking Engine: Calendar Sync & Reservation System 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18 Easy Events Calendar : All-in-One Events Calendar with Social Event, Eventbrite, Meetup, Google & iCal Import Support 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓2 10 too high 19 Vachr Short-Term Rental Reservations 30+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑7 5 too high 20 Eventward 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 I iCal Feeds 100+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too high 22 EventsCalendar.co Events Calendar 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓4 7 too high 23 Open Source Event Calendar 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓7 1 too high 24 Sacconi iCal Sync – WordPress Holiday Rental Calendars & iCal Booking Sync 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓3 8 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.