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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “link color”

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 “link color”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode shows at wp.org #2 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 2K+ 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

Custom Login Page Customizer places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 476 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #1 2 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (150) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 Fourteen Colors 8K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #5 6 WP Content Copy Protection with Color Design 5K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #19 10 too low 10 Broken Link Notifier 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #20 ↑3 7 too low 14 White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 Shipping Simulator for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 Link Manager – Analyze, Automate, and Monitor Links 1K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Sticky Social Link 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Browser Theme Color – Address Bar Color & Dark Mode 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 17 too high 20 LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking 400+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 WP Term Colors 700+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 GT Link Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Ultimate WooCommerce Filters 500+ · 3.7★ (14) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 VS Link Manager 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 9 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.