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

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 “licence”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 3 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

Eventward shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 122 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) wp.org #3 4 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #7 ↓2 3 too low 5 WP Job Portal – AI-Powered Recruitment System for Company or Job Board website 8K+ · 4.3★ (32) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Better Plugin Compatibility Control 4K+ · 4.3★ (19) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 Custom HTML Block Extension 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 AyeCode Connect 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 GF Mollie by Indigo 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 FV Flowplayer Video Player 10K+ · 4.4★ (90) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #19 ↑5 8 too low 12 M Message Filter for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Country Based Restrictions for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (52) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 teachPress 2K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 SOGO Accessibility 5K+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 Eventward 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑2 7 too high 17 NIF (Num. de Contribuinte Português) for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Change Proceed To Checkout Text 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too high 19 Easy Invoice – Invoice Generator, PDF Quotes & Payments 600+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too low 20 Opti-Behavior – Self-Hosted Heatmaps, Funnels, A/B Testing & Smart Insights 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓3 3 too low 21 AEO God Mode – AI Search Visibility 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too low 22 SVG Flags – Country Flag Blocks and Galleries 2K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23 AP Family Trees 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 The Menu: Custom mobile navigation with icons 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.