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← Rankings

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

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 “mandatory”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 7 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

Mandatory Excerpts for WordPress shows at wp.org #2 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 100+ 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

Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 296 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 W WP Required Taxonomies – Categories and Tags Mandatory 1K+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #1 2 No Category Base (WPML) 100K+ · 4.5★ (34) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 WP Sticky Sidebar – Floating Sidebar On Scroll for Any Theme 10K+ · 4.9★ (153) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #20 ↑1 14 too low 7 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #16 ↓4 8 too low 9 Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296) wp.org #24 ↓1 15 too low 10 Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (162) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Simple Product Options for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (35) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 EU Withdrawal and Legal Guarantee Compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Pinpoint Booking System – Legacy version 2K+ · 3.6★ (185) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 No Category Parents 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 YITH WooCommerce Affiliates 6K+ · 4.2★ (19) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Mandatory Excerpts for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 16 too high 19 Flexible Cookies 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Flexible Subscriptions 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 NIF (Num. de Contribuinte Português) for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Product Input Fields for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.0★ (17) wp.org #22 23 Spotrebiteľské práva pre WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Visa Acceptance Solutions 10K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑2 9 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.