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

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 “intersection”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

Embed Optimizer shows at wp.org #2 but places #7 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #1 2 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Quill Forms | Conversational Multi Step Forms, Surveys & quizzes 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Quicklink for WordPress 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 S Simple Block Animations 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 GateFlow Payment Logic — · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Embed Optimizer 50K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 DaazSync – RSS News Aggregator 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Sacconi iCal Sync – WordPress Holiday Rental Calendars & iCal Booking Sync 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 10 Addronix Addons for Elementor 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Role Membership Access for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 12 Serend Animations 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 13 Dynamic Post Grid – Gutenberg Blocks, Shortcodes & Elementor Addon 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 PrimeBible Verse Preview 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 Katalys Advertiser Integration 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 16 Payment Tag Filter for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 17 WPC Shop Quiz – Product Finder for WooCommerce 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 Weblazer Infinite Scroll for Block Themes — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Scroll Animations for Blocks 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 W Wades Network Background — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 A. Smith Speed Optimizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 PageFlash – Fast Page Preloading, Performance Optimization & Secure Your WordPress Site — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 AWO — Automatic Website Optimizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Zentro Blocks – Interactive Gutenberg Toolkit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.