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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “max depth”

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 “max depth”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Section Builder with Backgrounds – Customize with Color, Gradient, Image and Parallax. shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1K+ 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

WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #1 2 Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) wp.org #2 3 Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Auto Submenu 2K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box 2K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Download Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Conversios – GA4, Google Ads & Meta Conversion Tracking with Product Feed for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (206) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #19 ↓5 9 too low 11 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 WPeMatico RSS Feed Fetcher 10K+ · 4.8★ (514) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Houzez Property Feed 1K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Ultimate Reviews 400+ · 4.1★ (60) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15 Animated Text Block – Add Typing and Looping Text Effects 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Product XML Feed Manager for WooCommerce – Google Shopping, Social Sites, Skroutz & More 1K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 Show Support Ribbon 300+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot & Knowledge Base for Customer Service 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Section Builder with Backgrounds – Customize with Color, Gradient, Image and Parallax. 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 16 too high 21 Digital Clock 300+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Antimanual – Compact AI Agent for Content, Chat & SEO Automation 100+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Zen Site Security 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 Survey Form Block 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.