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

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 “kickstarter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 6 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

ChamaWP – Monetize With Donations, Memberships, Crowdfunding, Commissions & Restricted Content shows at wp.org #8 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Crowdfunding 2K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #1 2 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Embed Privacy 10K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too low 5 bbPress Notify (No-Spam) 2K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 FundPress – WordPress Donation Plugin 300+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Popular Brand Icons – Simple Icons 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Social Elements for WPBakery Page Builder 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 CubeWP Forms 3K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Embed Consent 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 TierStep – Early Bird Discount, Progressive Discount & Launch Pricing for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 KhvichaDev – Waitlist & Notify — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 W Widget Pack 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 ChamaWP – Monetize With Donations, Memberships, Crowdfunding, Commissions & Restricted Content 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Socialman – The Ultimate Giveaway & Contest Plugin for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 D DonatePress – Donation, Crowdfunding and Fundraising Platform — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 Calucon Third-Party Embed Gate 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Windzfare: Woocommerce based fundraising plugin 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 BC Kickstarter widget 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Responsive Media 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Install FitVids – Embed fluid width Videos 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 T Track Kickstarter Project 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 A All-in-one WPML Crowdfunding Campaigns 10+ · 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.