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

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 “lasting”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Kliken: Ads + Pixel for Meta shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 90 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 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Mailmunch Forms for Mailchimp 10K+ · 4.6★ (372) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 picu – Online Photo Proofing Gallery 2K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Drip – Marketing Automation for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Timed Content 5K+ · 4.6★ (41) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Gelato Integration for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.3★ (12) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Customize Admin 3K+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Vision – Interactive Image Map with Hotspots Builder 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Solid Testimonials – Testimonial Slider, Video Testimonials & Customer Reviews 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 WebinarPress – Webinar System for WordPress 800+ · 4.1★ (40) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Metrilo – WooCommerce Growth Platform 200+ · 3.9★ (10) wp.org #14 15 Swipe Slider – Make dynamic slider with solid, gradient, or image background 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Content Slider Block – Bring your content to life with slides 3K+ · 3.2★ (5) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Integrate nekorekten.com for WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Post Sliders 200+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Shopkeeper Extender 7K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Ultimate Carousel For Divi 700+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #20 21 Events Calendar For Divi 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 S Skyword Publishing API 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 ECard – Digital Visiting Card 300+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Kliken: Ads + Pixel for Meta 30K+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #8 16 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.