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

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

Breadcrumb based on URL shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #1 2

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #2 3

Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #3 4

FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.9★ (1815) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 5

Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #5 6

Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #6 ↑2 7

Redirection 100K+ · 5.0★ (419) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8

bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑8 1 too high 10

301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578) wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too low 11

404 Solution 10K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #11 ↓5 12 W WP-SCSS 40K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #10 ↑9 2 too high 13

404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17

Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325) wp.org #21 ↑3 4 too low 18

Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) heavy footprint wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19

Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too high 20

WP Job Portal – AI-Powered Recruitment System for Company or Job Board website 8K+ · 4.3★ (32) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21

Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓5 4 too high 22

LLMs.txt and LLMs-Full.txt Generator 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓4 2 too low 23

Breadcrumb based on URL 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24

Gutenverse Form – Contact Form Builder, Block Form & Booking Form 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) heavy footprint thin reviews 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.