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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “map md”

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 “map md”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Serve Markdown shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 80+ 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

Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin places #4 on merit, 4.6★ from 73 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #1 2 Autocomplete Google Address 2K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 SEO Booster 800+ · 4.8★ (54) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too low 4 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #13 9 too low 5 Block for Apple Maps 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Markdown Mirror – llms.txt and .md always up to date 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Insert Special Characters 3K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Guest posting / Frontend Posting / Front Editor – WP Front User Submit 100+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 LLMagnet – AI Visibility & AI SEO for Claude, ChatGPT & More 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 Rapls AI Chatbot – Self-Hosted RAG & MCP Server 90+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #18 ↓2 8 too low 11 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #23 ↓1 12 too low 12 Integration for MailPoet and CF7 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 One-V LLM Serve 10+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 RankReady – AI SEO, Schema, llms.txt, AEO and GEO for ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity 500+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓4 3 too high 15 JumpsuitAI – llms.txt + Markdown Endpoints 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 7 too high 16 Serve Markdown 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 Markdown for Agents and Statistics 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↑5 10 too high 18 JobPress – Your Company Job Board & Career Page 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 StoreSuite – Frontend Shop Manager for WooCommerce with AI – Product, Order, Coupon Management & Analytics Dashboard 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑2 3 too high 20 RouteMile for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑3 1 too low 21 ERA Markdown Importer 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 ParseLess 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Siddik Tone Hints — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 WPGraphQL IDE 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.