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

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 “icelandic”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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

Widgets for Thumbtack Reviews shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 900+ 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

Termly – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner places #11 on merit, 3.6★ from 204 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 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #2 3 ICS Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (72) wp.org #3 4 Event Organiser 20K+ · 4.6★ (140) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Widgets for Airbnb Reviews 6K+ · 4.6★ (60) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 Widgets for Booking.com Reviews 9K+ · 4.9★ (65) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 WP Tripadvisor Review Widgets 20K+ · 4.1★ (116) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Affiliates Manager 8K+ · 4.1★ (61) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Widgets for Reviews & Recommendations 8K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Tockify Events Calendar 2K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #5 ↓1 5 too high 11 Termly – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 80K+ · 3.6★ (204) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 ResponsiveVoice Text To Speech 7K+ · 3.9★ (34) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Business Hours Indicator 7K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Custom Search by BestWebSoft – WordPress Custom Search Plugin 900+ · 3.9★ (29) wp.org #14 15 Widgets for Amazon Reviews 2K+ · 4.0★ (45) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 WordLift – AI powered SEO – Schema 300+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Automatic Translator with Google Translate 2K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Widgets for Yelp Reviews 3K+ · 3.8★ (10) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Embedder for Google Reviews 6K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 All Currencies for WooCommerce 900+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Widgets for Thumbtack Reviews 900+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑1 9 too high 22 Widgets for Ebay Reviews 500+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Widgets for Zillow Reviews 300+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Pósturinn\'s Shipping with WooCommerce 500+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.