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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “issue tracker”

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 “issue tracker”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Smart Click Tracker shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 300+ 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

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #3 ↑4 2 too low 2 Email Tracker 800+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #2 3 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too low 4 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 Alpaca Issue Tracker 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 UTM Event Tracker and Analytics, UTM Grabber 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #17 ↑3 9 too low 9 Media Tracker – Track Unused, Duplicate & Used Media 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 WP Swiper 4K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 W WP Force Lowercase URLs 6K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 Events Tracker for Elementor 9K+ · 4.5★ (48) wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14 M Multi Device Switcher 10K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #19 ↓4 5 too low 15 Order Tracker for WooCommerce – Track Customer Order 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Shibboleth 3K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 W WP Auto Updater 7K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #23 ↑1 6 too low 18 Lite LMS Progress Tracker by LifterLMS – Simple Course, Membership Site and Content Progress Tracking for WordPress 300+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 BaseCloud UTM Tracker 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 UTM Tracker for Contact Form 7 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 atec 404 Tracker 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Source Medium Tracker for Contact Form 7 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 Matomo Tracker 100+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Smart Click Tracker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 11 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.