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

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 “manipulation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 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

WP All Export – Export Add-On for ACF shows at wp.org #15 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 973 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #1 2 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 ImageKit – URL based image manipulation and optimization 1K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Easy Image Collage 3K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection 2K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Cloudinary – Deliver Images and Videos at Scale 5K+ · 4.0★ (64) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too high 9 Bulky – Bulk Edit Products for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 H Hotfix 4K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 RioVizual — Table Blocks for Comparison, Pricing and Pros & Cons 1K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Admin Columns for ACF Fields 8K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 ePoll – Contest Poll Survey & Voting 1K+ · 3.9★ (24) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 S Simple Taxonomy Refreshed 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Gumlet – Image optimization with Resize, Compression, Lazy load, Caching & CDN delivery 400+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 LearnPress – Backup & Migration Tool 5K+ · 3.0★ (16) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Auto Cloudinary 200+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19 Restrict WP Upload Type 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Pofily – WooCommerce Product Filters 500+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 Custom Profile Picture – Replace Gravatar with Your Own Images 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 WP All Export – Export Add-On for ACF 20K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 WPBulky – WordPress Bulk Edit Post Types 400+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 Add to Cart Scheduler for WooCommerce 30+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.