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

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 based content”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

User IP and Location shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Price Based on Country for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (262) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #2 3

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #3 4

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6

Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #4 2 too high 7

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #7 ↓1 8

Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #8 9

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10

Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #9 1 too high 11

Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #13 ↓3 2 too low 12

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #19 ↓1 7 too low 13

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #23 ↓3 10 too low 14

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #11 3 too high 15

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #24 9 too low 16

If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #21 4 too low 18

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #22 4 too low 19

Kikote – Location Picker at Checkout & Google Address AutoFill Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (65) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20

User IP and Location 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21

Advanced Floating Content Lite 7K+ · 4.1★ (30) not PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too high 22

If-So Geolocation 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too high 23

Simple Location 300+ · 4.6★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 7 too high 24

If-So Conditional Content for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓3 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.