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← Rankings

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

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 “infos”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Add infos to The Events Calendar shows at wp.org #3 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 2051 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP Last Modified Info 40K+ · 4.9★ (855) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #7 ↓4 3 too low 5 Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #11 ↑3 4 too low 8 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too low 9 atec Cache Info 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 too high 10 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #15 ↑6 5 too low 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #20 ↑3 9 too low 12 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 FileOrganizer – WordPress File Manager 200K+ · 4.8★ (49) wp.org #16 ↑2 3 too low 14 Postie 10K+ · 4.7★ (139) wp.org #18 ↑6 4 too low 15 Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Add infos to The Events Calendar 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 ↑1 13 too high 17 Server Info – System Health & Diagnostics Suite 3K+ · 3.8★ (12) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 Info Cards – Add Text and Media in Card Layouts 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑1 12 too high 19 atec System Info 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↑4 6 too high 20 Extension Info Exporter 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 Lead info with country for Contact Form 7 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too high 22 Apache Status & Info 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Protect My Infos 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Homepage Helden Contact Info 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 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.