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

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 “indicator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Online Indicator For Twitch shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 832 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Reading Position Indicator 800+ · 5.0★ (66) wp.org #1 2 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Business Hours Indicator 7K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Smooth Back To Top Button 40K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #14 ↓3 7 too low 8 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 Disable All WordPress Updates 20K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #12 ↑4 2 too low 11 Reading progressbar 6K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #16 ↑6 4 too low 13 Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce & WordPress Tabs Builder – Smart Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #19 ↓9 6 too low 14 Free Shipping Bar for WooCommerce – Progress Indicator, Popup & Alerts 200+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 EMC – Embed Calendly Scheduling With Ease 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too high 16 ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #17 ↑4 1 too low 17 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Worth The Read 3K+ · 4.3★ (27) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Online Indicator For Twitch 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓1 14 too high 20 Disable WP Notification 10K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 Disable Right Click RB – Content Copy Protection, Prevent Copy & No Right Click 600+ · 4.2★ (14) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Stockdio Historical Chart 800+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 Compromise Scanner for wp2shell 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Pantheon HUD 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓2 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.