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

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 “imdb”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 2 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

Socicon shows at wp.org #3 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 326 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #1 2

WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #4 ↓2 2 too low 3

GeeK! – Movie & Game Database 70+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4

Speed Contact Bar 4K+ · 4.6★ (56) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5

WidgetKit for Elementor – Lightweight Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 7K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6

CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #19 ↓1 13 too low 7

Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #18 ↓1 11 too low 8

Simple Social Icons 100K+ · 4.3★ (92) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 too low 9

Social Media Widget 30K+ · 3.9★ (84) closure risk wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10

Socicon 200+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #3 ↑1 7 too high 11

CubeWP Framework 3K+ · 4.8★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #7 4 too high 12

Lumière Movies 30+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13

Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #8 5 too high 14

Movie Helper 40+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16

My Movie Database 200+ · 4.2★ (9) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17

Social Media Shortcodes 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18

Hello Hollywood 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19

CineLink Embeds for JustWatch 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20

SameAs Profile Manager — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21

PJ IMDB 10+ · 3.4★ (5) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22

TograStickyElements — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23

F13 Movies 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24

SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.