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

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

Global Body Mass Index Calculator shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (74) wp.org #1 2 GPX Route Map 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Weather Widget Pro 1K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Calculate Prices based on Distance For WooCommerce 300+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 WP Calorie Calculator 900+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 CC BMI Calculator 700+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Show Fit File 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Weather Atlas Widget 8K+ · 4.1★ (41) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 BMI Adult & Kid Calculator 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Under The Weather 60+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 Admin Menus Fixed 100+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 B Britetechs Companion 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Simple BMI Form 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 MetriPrice – Price Calculator & Product Configurator for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 FitCalc – Health Calculators & Wellness Tools 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Run Log 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Health & Fitness Calculators Suite 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Universal Unit Converter: Convert Length, Weight, Temperature, Speed, and Time 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 MoveAdvisor Leads Form 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Wexlab Dynamic Pricing Calculator for Elementor — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Project LLMs.txt – AI SEO & llms.txt for WordPress & WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 22 Anacoder Calculators – 20+ Responsive Calculators & Embed Suite — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Global Body Mass Index Calculator 30+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 WeatherBot Weather Widget 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 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.