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

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 “illegal”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

WPC Advanced Password Protect for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100+ 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

Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 194 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Change Username 4K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 D Database Collation Fix 1K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #3 4 WP Review Slider 6K+ · 4.8★ (181) wp.org #4 5 WP DSGVO Tools (GDPR) 10K+ · 4.0★ (116) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #18 ↓1 12 too low 7 VdoCipher: Secure Video Player and Hosting 2K+ · 4.2★ (14) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 European VAT Compliance Assistant for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Conditional Fields for Elementor Form – Apply Conditional Logic 10K+ · 4.7★ (32) wp.org #9 10 Fast Etsy Listings 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #24 ↓1 13 too low 12 Fast eBay Listings 400+ · 4.5★ (18) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Content Mask 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Advanced Age Verification Popup 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Polski for WooCommerce 60+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #15 16 Knit Pay UPI – Paytm for Business, PhonePe Business, BharatPe, HDFC 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Zero Analytics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 AmicaChat Widget — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Simple AI Compliance Pack — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 WPC Advanced Password Protect for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 VerifiedReply: Verified WooCommerce Reviews and Testimonials by Email Reply 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 NUS Notify for LINE — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Download buttons for Youtube videos 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 BP Add Post Updates to Activity 20+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓2 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.