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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “jquery update”

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 “jquery update”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 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

Auto Update Post Date shows at wp.org #4 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 J jQuery Updater 20K+ · 4.5★ (64) wp.org #1 2 Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 T Test jQuery Updates 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #13 ↑3 6 too low 8 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #17 ↓3 9 too low 9 LightPress Lightbox 40K+ · 4.6★ (72) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #22 ↑1 12 too low 11 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Photonic Gallery & Lightbox for Flickr, SmugMug & Others 10K+ · 4.8★ (193) wp.org #20 ↑2 8 too low 13 Bulk Price Update for Woocommerce 2K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Block Plugin Update 5K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 JS Archive List 3K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 JS Categories List Widget 1K+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #18 19 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #16 ↑3 5 too high 22 Atarim – AI Agency for WordPress: Edit Pages, Fix Code, Update Plugins, SEO & Client Feedback 1K+ · 4.9★ (126) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Auto Update Post Date 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 19 too high 24 Version Control for jQuery 5K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓2 9 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.