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← Rankings

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

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 “man”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Barcode Man for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 1146 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #5 ↑4 3 too low 3 Snow Monkey Blocks 30K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 Bitcoin Payments – Blockonomics 2K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Simple Webchat 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 WP Directory Kit 2K+ · 4.9★ (35) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 DSGVO Youtube 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 M Mesmerize Companion 50K+ · 4.4★ (51) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 M Materialis Companion 6K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #10 11 Post Status Notifier Lite 700+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 O One Page Express Companion 10K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 S SpiceBox 20K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #13 14 WPC Order Tip for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #14 15 VietQR 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 Menu Backup & Restore + Import/Export 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Barcode Man for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓2 10 too high 18 DevVN – Trang trí Tết Việt Nam 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 19 RestroFood Lite – Online Food Ordering and Restaurant Management Plugin For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 A WP Life Companion 6K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 WP Courseware for MemberPress 100+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 FoodBook Lite – Online Food Ordering System 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 N360 | Splash Screen 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 JennyStudio Identicons 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.