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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “insert date”

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 “insert date”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 5 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

Date Picker For Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Quiz Maker by AYS places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 601 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #1 2 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #2 3 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 I Insert Pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (71) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Shortcode for Current Date 10K+ · 5.0★ (116) wp.org #6 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #7 8 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Insert Headers and Footers Code – HT Script 7K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 too high 12 Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #24 ↓6 10 too low 15 PI Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #16 ↓4 1 too high 18 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Estimated delivery date per product for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.3★ (83) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 Dynamic Month & Year into Posts 8K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 Date Picker For Contact Form 7 4K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 Nepali Date Utilities 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Advanced Date Time Field For Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, WPForms, Elementor & Fluent Forms 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.