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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “json validator”

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 “json validator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

BBH Custom Schema – Add Custom JSON-LD to Your Website shows at wp.org #2 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 900+ 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

WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 594 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Serial Codes Generator and Validator with WooCommerce Support 700+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #1 2 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1268) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Structured Content (JSON-LD) #wpsc 30K+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Recipe Card Blocks Lite 10K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1072) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – RexFeed – Sell on 200+ Shopping Channels 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #11 ↑4 4 too low 8 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) wp.org #19 ↑1 10 too low 10 Schema Package – Structured Data & Rich Snippets Tool for SEO 200+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Job Postings 10K+ · 4.4★ (58) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 BBH Custom Schema – Add Custom JSON-LD to Your Website 900+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 10 too high 13 WPSSO Core – Complete Schema Markup and Meta Tags 4K+ · 4.6★ (306) wp.org #23 ↑1 10 too low 14 Schema 30K+ · 4.3★ (221) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Odyssey LLMS 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑1 10 too high 18 Lynbro Cookie Consent 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 too low 19 ZBounce Email Validator — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 jsonyo — JSON Toolkit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too high 21 AgilePress Schema JSON-LD Block 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 SchemaNex 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 AEO Engine 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too high 24 Microdata to JSON-LD Converter — · 5.0★ (1) 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.