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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “last seen”

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 “last seen”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

ČSFD Last Seen shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 10+ 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

Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 142 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 When Last Login 50K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #1 2 WPForce Logout – WordPress User Login Logout Management Plugin 8K+ · 4.8★ (66) wp.org #2 3 Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 200K+ · 4.7★ (1509) wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too low 4 Online Active Users 2K+ · 4.7★ (50) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (707) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 User Login History 10K+ · 4.6★ (29) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #18 ↑6 10 too low 9 SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (47) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94) wp.org #10 ↓2 11 Loading Page with Loading Screen 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12 Style Kits for Elementor 10K+ · 4.7★ (44) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 User Activity Tracking and Log 2K+ · 3.5★ (34) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Min Max Control – Min Max Quantity & Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #14 15 WPMR Google Feed Manager for WooCommerce – Sell on Google Merchant Center & Shopping 10K+ · 4.5★ (127) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 Conditional Fields for Elementor Form – Apply Conditional Logic 10K+ · 4.7★ (32) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Live Carts for WooCommerce: Track Active, Abandoned, and Converted Carts & Wishlists in Real Time! 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↑2 9 too high 18 ČSFD Last Seen 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 Republish Old Posts 2K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 Checkout Shield for WooCommerce – Stop Fake Orders, Spam Bots & Card Testing 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Website Internal Link Optimiser 200+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Agency Toolkit 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 Fatal Plugin Auto Deactivator – Never let a plugin break your site 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Crawler Record 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 12 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.