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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “l10n”

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 “l10n”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Dokan WPML shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 300+ 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.

Buried gem

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #2 on merit, 4.9★ from 8865 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (452) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8865) wp.org #20 ↓2 18 too low 3 Embed Block for GitHub 400+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Translation Stats 10+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Cryptocurrency Product for WooCommerce 30+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 Geo to Lat 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #23 16 too low 8 Speed Up – Translation Cache 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Blocks Product Editor for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Ultimate Downloadable Products for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 11 Ethereum Wallet 10+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Webdevez Testimonials Slider for Elementor 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑1 7 too high 13 Total Cost Input for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Ether and ERC20 tokens WooCommerce Payment Gateway 10+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Dokan WPML 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Tempmails 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 ReaganM Customer Wishlist for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 ADStn Auto Poster — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Vondelphia Chat Widget for Discord — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Frenglish Translations — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Zesyn Islamic Toolkit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 Arik Sahaj Checkout — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 B BookSync to Google Calendar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 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.