wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “inline link”

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 “inline link”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 6 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

MrSeokar Inline Related Products for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 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

Max Mega Menu places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 882 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 4

Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) not PHP-current wp.org #4 3 too high 8

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9

Inline Image Upload for BBPress 3K+ · 4.6★ (65) wp.org #10 1 too low 10

SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #15 ↑2 5 too low 11

Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #24 ↓6 13 too low 12

Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #22 ↓3 10 too low 13

Broken Link Notifier 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #7 6 too high 14

Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 5 too high 15

AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120) wp.org #19 4 too low 16

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #23 ↓2 7 too low 17

Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #21 ↓5 4 too low 18

Shipping Simulator for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 1 too high 19

Inline Tweet Sharer – Twitter Sharing Plugin 300+ · 5.0★ (11) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓4 1 too high 20

No unsafe-inline 200+ · 5.0★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too high 22

MrSeokar Inline Related Products for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #12 10 too high 23

Inline Context – Footnotes, Tooltips & Glossary Notes 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓2 10 too high 24

GT Link Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓5 4 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.