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

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 “lookup”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

افزونه پرداخت امن زرین‌پال برای ووکامرس (ZarinPal for WooCommerce) shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 633 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #4 ↑6 2 too low 3 Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #8 ↓2 5 too low 4 SQLite Object Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #7 ↓3 3 too low 5 Fast Woo Order Lookup 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #5 ↑10 1 too high 7 Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124) wp.org #11 ↓4 4 too low 8 Regenerate product lookup table for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 Shipping Simulator for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #6 ↑10 3 too high 10 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #10 ↓2 11 AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) 7K+ · 4.8★ (633) wp.org #21 ↑1 10 too low 12 OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too low 13 Visual Link Preview 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 Leaflet Map 30K+ · 4.9★ (58) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 Geolocation IP Detection 20K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #16 ↑1 17 Integration for Mailchimp and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 8K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 IP2Location Country Blocker 30K+ · 4.1★ (128) wp.org #23 ↓11 5 too low 19 Geo Controller – Geolocation & Geotargeting 1K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #19 20 افزونه پرداخت امن زرین‌پال برای ووکامرس (ZarinPal for WooCommerce) 60K+ · 3.5★ (13) wp.org #9 ↓4 11 too high 21 Fetchify 600+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↓3 9 too high 22 Polski for WooCommerce 60+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #13 ↓2 9 too high 23 UK Address Postcode Validation 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 Postcodes4U Address Finder 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.