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

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 “location”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 6 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

Simple Location shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 3047 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 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #1 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8663) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4825) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1659) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #9 ↑3 2 too low 8 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14380) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too low 9 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (549) wp.org #11 ↓4 2 too low 10 WP Store Locator 50K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #17 ↑3 7 too low 11 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map 300K+ · 4.8★ (3047) wp.org #24 ↓2 12 too low 13 Kikote – Location Picker at Checkout & Google Address AutoFill Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (65) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5217) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 User IP and Location 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #6 ↓1 9 too high 16 Stock Locations for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.8★ (53) wp.org #13 ↓5 3 too high 17 Breadcrumb NavXT 800K+ · 4.6★ (132) wp.org #20 ↓3 3 too low 18 B BP xProfile Location 500+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #8 ↑3 10 too high 19 Simple Location 300+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #7 ↑3 12 too high 20 Autocomplete Location Field for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Location Pack for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Checkout Location Picker for WooCommerce 200+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23 Multi Location Product & Inventory Management for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 Payment Gateways by Customer Location for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.