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

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 “localizations”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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

RTL Localization & Fonts shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 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

Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 620 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #1 2

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #2 3

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #3 ↑2 4

Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5

پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6

Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9

Performant Translations 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10

MapPress – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap & Leaflet 30K+ · 4.7★ (147) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11

Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #17 6 too low 12

WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14

Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #20 ↑2 6 too low 15

WP Multilang – Translation and Multilingual Plugin 10K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too high 16 S Saphali Woocommerce Lite 10K+ · 4.2★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17

GPTranslate – Multilingual AI Translation Agent for WordPress: Translate Your Site with AI 500+ · 5.0★ (34) not PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18

Donations via PayPal 20K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19

Geo Controller – Geolocation & Geotargeting 1K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #24 ↓3 5 too low 20

Ray Enterprise Translation 7K+ · 2.6★ (48) wp.org #13 7 too high 21

No External Links 4K+ · 4.8★ (16) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 22

RTL Localization & Fonts 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓1 18 too high 23

Japanized for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (21) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24

SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #23 1 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.