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

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 “inactive”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

CartFlush – Auto Clear WooCommerce Cart for Inactive Users shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 60+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 838 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Inactive Logout 10K+ · 4.8★ (106) wp.org #1 2 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #2 3 Carousel Slider Block for Gutenberg 50K+ · 4.8★ (59) wp.org #3 4 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #5 ↑4 1 too low 5 Widget Importer & Exporter 200K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Prime Mover – Backup and Migration 10K+ · 5.0★ (141) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 External Links in New Window / New Tab 30K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 WP Last Login 10K+ · 3.8★ (26) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11 Melapress Login Security 3K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Invisible reCaptcha 70K+ · 4.3★ (133) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Password Policy Manager 6K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 Plugins List 700+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 CartFlush – Auto Clear WooCommerce Cart for Inactive Users 60+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 Top Bar 10K+ · 4.0★ (43) wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 forumAttachments for bbPress 6K+ · 4.3★ (26) wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too low 21 Dam Spam 3K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 Delete Inactive Themes and Extensions 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 Archivum Inactive Archiver 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Commerce7 for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑4 8 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.