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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “key generator”

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 “key generator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 LLMS (.txt) Generator shows at wp.org #14 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 300+ 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.

Buried gem

AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT places #5 on merit, 4.6★ from 166 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #1 2 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 WP Child Theme Generator 20K+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #3 4 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) wp.org #6 7 PGP Key Generator 50+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 PDF Generator for WordPress 1K+ · 4.6★ (39) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 AI Alt Text Generator 2K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 Serial Codes Generator and Validator with WooCommerce Support 700+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #16 ↑3 5 too low 12 LLMs.txt and LLMs-Full.txt Generator 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 BotWriter – AI Writer & SEO Content Generator 1K+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too low 14 SMK Sidebar Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Security Header Generator 400+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 AI Auto Post & Image Generator 200+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 Custom Sitemap Generator 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 Social Profile Frame Generator – Custom Social Media Frames Creator 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 neo Alt – AI Alt Text Generator for images with bulk processing – Free and No API Key Required 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑4 1 too low 20 Auto LLMS (.txt) Generator 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 IA SEO Generator 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 CodingBunny LLMs.txt Generator 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Lightweight Sitemap Generator 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 CartLink Generator for WooCommerce — Direct Checkout & Share Cart Links 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 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.