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

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 “itch”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 16. 4 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

WPC Copy Billing Address for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #1 but places #7 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 200+ 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 signals wp.org

Media Playback Speed 300+ · 5.0★ (9) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #4 3 too low 2

Night Mode 30+ · 3.4★ (5) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #2 1 too high 4

IvyCat AJAX Testimonials 200+ · 4.5★ (16) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #9 5 too low 5 D Demo Data Creator 70+ · 3.5★ (22) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #8 3 too low 6 M MyBB Cross-Postalicious 10+ · 5.0★ (5) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #7 1 too low 7

WPC Copy Billing Address for WooCommerce 200+ · 3.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #1 6 too high 8

Desdinova Game Card Embed From Itch.io — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 5 too high 9 H hRecipe 60+ · 4.7★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 1 too low 10

Stock Portfolio 20+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #6 4 too high 11 S Simple User Admin 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #12 1 too low 12 S Sitewide Newsletters 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 1 too low 13 T ThemeBrowser 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 1 too low 14 P Personal Welcome 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #11 3 too high 15 P Plogger Badge Widget — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 1 too low 16 S Session Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 1 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.