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

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 “icalendar”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Booking Manager – Sync WP Booking Calendar – Import Events, Export Bookings to ICS Calendar shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 5K+ 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

Import Social Events places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 116 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ICS Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (72) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 WP Booking System – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (344) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Simple Google Calendar Outlook Events Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 too high 4 Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly 60K+ · 4.4★ (586) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too low 5 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #5 6 WP Hotelier 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Import Social Events 3K+ · 4.8★ (116) wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8 Import Eventbrite Events 3K+ · 4.5★ (52) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 Calendar 4K+ · 3.7★ (24) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 MembershipWorks – Membership, Events & Directory 2K+ · 4.4★ (37) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 WP Event Aggregator: Import Eventbrite events, Meetup events, social events and any iCal Events into Event Calendar 1K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 Pinpoint Booking System – Legacy version 2K+ · 3.6★ (185) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Tockify Events Calendar 2K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 Eventward 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑4 10 too high 15 MegaCalendar 60+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #22 ↓4 7 too low 16 connectDaily Events Calendar Plugin 90+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 WP School Calendar 400+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 XT Event Widget for Social Events 800+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 Occupancy Plan 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 Event Koi Lite – Events Calendar, Event Management, RSVP, and Tickets 70+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Easy Events Calendar : All-in-One Events Calendar with Social Event, Eventbrite, Meetup, Google & iCal Import Support 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 Open Source Event Calendar 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑7 10 too high 23 Booking Manager – Sync WP Booking Calendar – Import Events, Export Bookings to ICS Calendar 5K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓2 17 too high 24 Appointmind 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓2 6 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.