wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ie7”

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 “ie7”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 6 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 #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 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

Firelight Lightbox places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 361 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Compact WP Audio Player 20K+ · 4.1★ (69) wp.org #1 2

eCommerce Product Catalog 7K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too low 3

Image Slider 4K+ · 3.4★ (31) not PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #13 9 too low 5

GIGA Slider 100+ · 4.3★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑1 6

Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #10 4 too low 7

Liteweight Podcast – run your podcast site without the bloat 400+ · 4.3★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too high 8

AI Infographic Maker 600+ · 4.4★ (17) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Video Slider – Slider Carousel 3K+ · 4.7★ (71) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk wp.org #11 2 too low 10

mb.YTPlayer for background videos 1K+ · 4.1★ (28) closure risk stale but ranked wp.org #9 1 too high 11

Highlight Search Terms 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12

Image Carousel 1K+ · 2.6★ (14) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 ↑1 9 too high 13

Slider Carousel – Image Slider 3K+ · 4.5★ (64) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk wp.org #12 1 too high 14

ShiftNav – Responsive Mobile Menu 10K+ · 4.6★ (68) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15

LightPress Lightbox 40K+ · 4.6★ (72) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 1 too low 16

Menubar 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #15 1 too high 17

Simple Side Tab 10K+ · 4.8★ (22) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 3 too high 18

wp-forecast 4K+ · 4.2★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19

Event Timeline – Vertical Timeline 1K+ · 4.7★ (20) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #19 20

WP Flow Plus 800+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too low 21

Modal Dialog 500+ · 4.4★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #23 2 too low 22

IE6 Upgrade Option 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #8 14 too high 23

FV Antispam 800+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #20 3 too high 24

Image Slider – Responsive jQuery Slider 30+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 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.