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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “im chat”

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 “im chat”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.

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

Lime Talk Live Chat shows at wp.org #3 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 30+ 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

GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO places #5 on merit, 4.6★ from 683 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Crisp – Live Chat and AI Chatbot 20K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Notification for Telegram 4K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Chatroll Live Chat 200+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Order On Mobile for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 30K+ · 4.6★ (683) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 WP2LEADS | WordPress und KlickTipp einfach verbinden – WooCommerce und KlickTipp einfach verbinden 70+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 Simple Webchat 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Bitcoin and Altcoin Wallets 50+ · 4.8★ (27) wp.org #20 12 too low 9 CookieBoxs – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent & Google Consent Mode v2 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Country Code Selector 1K+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 Zendesk Chat 10K+ · 4.0★ (27) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Lime Talk Live Chat 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 9 too high 13 Chatnox Live Chat Plugin (Free & Paid Plans) 50+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 StudioMeyer Transparency Toolkit for the EU AI Act 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 Deinwebseitenchat – DSGVO-konformer KI-Chatbot für deine Website — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 WP Gener8Tor – Chat with your site visitors on all platforms and messengers 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Native B2B: RFQ Product Catalog & Inquiry Form — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 RezaTain SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 STM Smart Checkout for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 AIutoma – The AIO Autonomous AI Assistant — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 StudioMeyer Agent Readiness — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 TrafficWatchdog eSprzedawca AI dla WC — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 UrLive Chat widget by UrLive — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23

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.