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← Rankings

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

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 “localwp”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20.

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

Directorist – WPML Integration shows at wp.org #3 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 21 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging places #1 on merit, 4.9★ from 1568 reviews, but shows at wp.org #7. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #7 6 too low 2 Eli's PHP Compatibility Scanner 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WPGraphQL 30K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #15 ↓1 12 too low 4 SEOKEY – Powerful SEO plugin with Expert Insights and SEO Audit 1K+ · 4.7★ (42) wp.org #19 ↓2 15 too low 5 Trinity Backup – Backup, Migrate, Restore, Clone & Schedule Backups 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Simple Digital Clock 🕒 500+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 PluggInsight – Maintenance Status 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Dynamic ACF Repeater for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 Unlock Protocol 40+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 Turbo Admin 80+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓1 13 too low 11 Unbox by oobe — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Mattytap Sermons 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 StifLi Backup Tools 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Marcellus Social Profile Links — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Tax‑Proof Coupons for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 AsafAmos Accessibility Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Bawbab Interactive Maps — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 VDL Site Leak Scanner – 404 & Broken Link Checker — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 FastMigrate – Direct Server-to-Server Site Transfer 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 PixGuard Scanner 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 SmartCloud Static Publisher 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Tubelastica — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Frogbit: AI Alt Text & Image MetaData — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Directorist – WPML Integration 400+ · 2.0★ (1) wp.org #3 21 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.