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

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 “insurance”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms places #10 on merit, 4.4★ from 433 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Flexible Product Fields (WooCommerce Product Addons) – WooCommerce Product Page Editor 10K+ · 4.5★ (106) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Boxtal – Shipping solution 9K+ · 4.0★ (46) wp.org #2 3 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too low 4 VikRentCar Car Rental Management System 4K+ · 4.8★ (30) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #13 ↓5 8 too low 6 Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #6 ↑4 7 Mortgage Calculator 1K+ · 3.9★ (13) wp.org #4 ↑9 3 too high 8 Database Backup for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 WP Insurance – WordPress Insurance Service Plugin 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #1 8 too high 10 Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms 20K+ · 4.4★ (433) wp.org #21 ↑1 11 too low 11 E2Pdf – Export Pdf Tool for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #11 12 Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 MyParcel 8K+ · 3.9★ (48) wp.org #9 ↓5 4 too high 14 Shipping Live Rates for FedEx for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 Express, Certified Post, Bike Delivery and Iranian Postal Companies for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 Shipi – DHL Express Integration for Woocommerce 100+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Virusdie | One-click website security 2K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 WP-Cron Status Checker 5K+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 ShipStation Live Rates for WooCommerce 800+ · 3.6★ (11) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 VikRentItems Flexible Rental Management System 600+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #20 21 Inspiro Starter Sites – 20+ Free Demo Templates for Gutenberg & Elementor 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 14 too high 22 CDEKDelivery 3K+ · 2.8★ (13) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Live Shipping Rates Australia for woocommerce – Get real-time shipping rates for your store 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 AC’s Mortgage Calculator 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 12 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.