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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “k 12”

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 “k 12”, we agree with wp.org 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

Display Event Location for The Events Calendar shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 90+ 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 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #1 2 AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 LocoAI – Auto Translate for Loco Translate 70K+ · 4.9★ (642) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 DPD SK for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too high 8 Scheduled Sales, Discounts and Omnibus Price History for WooCommerce 60+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Graphina – Charts and Graphs For Elementor 9K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 AI Product Tools – Bulk Product Content Generator & AI Toolkit for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #14 ↑3 4 too low 11 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 AxiaChat AI – Free AI Chatbot (Answers Customers Automatically) 500+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #18 ↑2 6 too low 13 WPMathPub 300+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 SKT Addons for Elementor 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too low 15 FileDeck – Document Library, Download Manager & Client Portal 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Document Engine – Document Library, PDF Viewer & Post to PDF 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑2 6 too low 17 GreetPlayer – Video Player, Video Bubble, Audio Player & Lead Capture 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 SchoolDigger Widgets — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 Payout payment gateway 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21 Display Event Location for The Events Calendar 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Campus Directory – Faculty, Staff & Student Directory Plugin for WordPress 80+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 SheetLink Forms for Google Sheets and Excel 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 2 too high 24 Smart Admin Assistant 200+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #19 ↑3 5 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.