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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ie6”

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 “ie6”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

IE6 Upgrade Option shows at wp.org #2 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 12 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

Slideshow Gallery LITE places #4 on merit, 4.6★ from 743 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Video Lightbox 30K+ · 4.3★ (67) wp.org #1 2 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Social Media Widget 30K+ · 3.9★ (84) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Slideshow Gallery LITE 5K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 PrettyPhoto – Simple Lightbox Plugin 2K+ · 2.8★ (15) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Portfolio Gallery – Responsive Image Gallery 1K+ · 4.5★ (58) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Menubar 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Jquery news ticker 300+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 CoolClock 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #9 10 WP-Copyright-Protection 5K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 WP GPX Maps 4K+ · 4.1★ (59) wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too low 12 wp-forecast 4K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 Calendar 4K+ · 3.7★ (24) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 IE6 Upgrade Option 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 12 too high 15 RPS Image Gallery 800+ · 4.0★ (14) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Posts per Cat 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 PHP Browser Detection 500+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 S Social Photo Fetcher 1K+ · 3.7★ (12) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 NextGEN Gallery Optimizer 1K+ · 3.1★ (29) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 iG:Syntax Hiliter 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Accessible External Text Links 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Setlist 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 WP Brand Logo Slider 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 S Simple Sidebar Navigation 200+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #19 5 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.