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← Rankings

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

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 “local”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 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

Local Pickup for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 742 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 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #1 2 Simple Local Avatars 100K+ · 4.6★ (89) wp.org #2 3 Local Google Fonts 100K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #3 ↑15 4 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #14 ↓3 7 too low 8 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #19 ↓3 11 too low 9 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Advanced Local Pickup for WooCommerce – Click & Collect, In-Store Pickup 3K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742) wp.org #24 ↓3 12 too low 13 Local Fonts Uploader – Upload & Host Any Font Locally for GDPR 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓3 7 too high 14 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #18 ↓4 4 too low 15 CAOS | Host Google Analytics Locally 10K+ · 4.9★ (128) wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too low 16 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #9 ↓4 7 too high 17 Local Business Schema Lite 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #12 ↑5 5 too high 18 Local Delivery Drivers for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #16 ↓4 2 too high 19 L Local Development 90+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓5 1 too low 20 Local Pickup for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓3 13 too high 21 User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Shipday Local Delivery for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #22 23 Local Business Schema Generator 100+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 Local Twemoji 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.