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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “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 “md”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Markdown for Agents and Statistics shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ 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

SEO Booster places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 54 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Multisite Language Switcher 3K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Simple Export to Markdown 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Visibility – Lightweight SEO, AEO and GEO for Search and AI 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 LLM Markdown – Markdown Endpoints for AI Agents 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 6 SEO Booster 800+ · 4.8★ (54) wp.org #18 12 too low 7 LLMagnet – AI Visibility & AI SEO for Claude, ChatGPT & More 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 Markdown Mirror – llms.txt and .md always up to date 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 WP Change Email Sender 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #23 ↓1 14 too low 10 Rawi MD — Markdown for AI Crawlers 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 RankReady – AI SEO, Schema, llms.txt, AEO and GEO for ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity 500+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓3 12 ACF Photo Gallery Field 60K+ · 4.0★ (29) wp.org #20 ↓3 8 too low 13 LLMs.txt Curator 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 Entryway – WP Login & Logout Redirect 6K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 JumpsuitAI – llms.txt + Markdown Endpoints 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Meerkat Markdown for AI Visibility 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 DocxToPost – Import Word (DOCX) & Markdown to Posts, Pages & Custom Post Types 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Markdown for Agents and Statistics 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↑5 11 too high 19 BBH Custom Schema – Add Custom JSON-LD to Your Website 900+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 Free Trial Coupon for WooCommerce Subscriptions 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Serve Markdown 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Fangtao MD IO 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Logo Switcher Divi 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 PHP Version 6K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑3 8 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.