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

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 “internationalisation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

ProRank SEO shows at wp.org #10 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 10+ 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

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin places #6 on merit, 4.2★ from 641 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 wp.org
1 EU VAT Assistant for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Extensions for Leaflet Map 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Calendar 4K+ · 3.7★ (24) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Clonable – Translate Woocommerce / WordPress website. Multilingual in 5 minutes. 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Language Switcher 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #5 6 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #24 ↓4 18 too low 7 Export Themes 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #23 ↓1 16 too low 8 R RT Delete Duplicate Products for WooCommerce 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Mevabi – Daily Word Puzzle 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Ultimate Extension for ACF 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 PCIO Year Wheel — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 12 Jobit Vacancies for Multiposter — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Smart Preload DL — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 ProRank SEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Lumioh SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 2fox4 Accessibility Suite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 Surf7 Simple Catalog 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑6 2 too high 18 Abstract Box — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too high 19 YUI Preview Token — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Desk9 AI Content Disclosure — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too high 21 Blippinz AI SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 EquaShop — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Classic Menu Accessible (A11y) — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓4 2 too high 24 DFX Parish Retreat Letters — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓3 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.