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

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 “liner”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

CataLord shows at wp.org #9 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its — 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Mobile Detect 3K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #1 2 Segurium – Free Malware Removal & Auto Cleanup for Hacked Websites, Antivirus Scanner, Vulnerability Alerts 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Summary box for Wikipedia links 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 ConvertNow Analytics: Website Stats, Visitor Statistics, AI Traffic and Bot Filtering 70+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 9 too low 5 Disable Login Language Switcher 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 TopPicks – Affiliate Product Box, Review Block & Comparison Cards — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 GroanDeck Dad Jokes — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Nginx Cache Purge Preload 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Royal AI Firewall 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Areviews – Import Photo & Video Reviews for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Theme YAML – Use YAML instead JSON for your theme.json settings and styles 10+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 KaosH&F — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Cronheart — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 CataLord — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Apio systems – Honeypot for Contact Form 7 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 E Energ1zer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 AffiliLabs — Amazon & Digistore Product Review Affiliate Plugin Powered by AI — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 P PS4L Pond Calculator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 LINER In-Site — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 V Voce Performance Tools 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 O One-liners 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Bollywood Dialogues — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 R Remove CSS link IDs 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 I Inspire Me — · 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.