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

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 “junction”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Casino Games shows at wp.org #10 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 50+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 affiliate-toolkit – Multi-Network Affiliate & Amazon Product Display 2K+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Auto Affiliate Links 2K+ · 4.1★ (39) wp.org #3 4 MyBookTable Bookstore by Stormhill Media 1K+ · 3.8★ (41) wp.org #4 5 Affiliate Power – Sales Tracking for Affiliate Marketers 100+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 PG Simple Affiliate Shop 90+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #15 ↓1 9 too low 7 Coupon & Discount Code Reveal Button 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Tracking Code for cj.com (on WooCommerce checkout) 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 CJ Network Integration 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Thisismyurl Dashboard Notice Control — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 CSV 2 POST 10+ · 3.2★ (17) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 URL Export Addon for TranslatePress — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 K KiraBackup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Pricemesh – Price Comparison | Preisvergleich 10+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 dpaBottomofPostPage 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Wordless 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Casino Games 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 IDEI Move – Backup, Migration & Restore 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 Carta Online 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 ProSolution WP Client 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 VisitorAtlas — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Muri Link Tracker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 CJ Affiliate Export plugin 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 A Auto Content Poster for Commission Junction 10+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #21 3 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.