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

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 “linkable”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates shows at wp.org #5 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Loco Translate places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 452 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #1 2 E Enhanced Text Widget 30K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1009) wp.org #12 9 too low 4 Linkable 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Carousel Block – Showcase Images in Elegant Sliding Displays 7K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Alerts for Beaver Builder 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Radio Station by netmix® – Manage and play your Show Schedule in WordPress! 1K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (452) wp.org #23 ↓4 15 too low 9 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Mitsol Social Post Feed 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Draft – Tailwind CSS for WordPress. 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 Luma Product Fields 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 ID Image Ad Popup & Roadblock 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 AI Blog Poster 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 Customer Cloud Gallery – Google Drive & Dropbox Image Gallery 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Phayoune Site Ribbon 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 StSalv Smart Schema Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 WPLink – AI Internal Linking 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too high 19 BookingHive – Reservation Calendar for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20 UTS Sites Table of Contents — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Nahnu Code & API Block — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Smart Categories for WooCommerce – Product Categories & Category Management — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 OW Forms — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 Internal Post Linker – Link Internal Posts, Pages, Products without leaving the page — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.