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

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 “meow”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Meow Workflow – AI Agents & No-Code Automation for WordPress shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ 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.

Buried gem

Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 779 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 Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203) wp.org #1 2 Meow Lightbox 10K+ · 4.9★ (190) wp.org #2 3 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 900+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Photo Engine (Media Organizer & Lightroom) 2K+ · 4.9★ (210) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Apocalypse Meow 300+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too low 10 Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Contact Form Block 600+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 Perfect Images: Regenerate Thumbnails, Image Sizes, WebP & AVIF 60K+ · 4.8★ (279) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Meow Analytics (Google Analytics) 400+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Enhanced Media Library 60K+ · 4.3★ (298) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Social Engine 600+ · 4.8★ (30) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Code Engine – PHP Snippets, AI Functions & Automation for WordPress 800+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Audio Story Images 400+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Meow Workflow – AI Agents & No-Code Automation for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 Role Based Pricing for Woo by Meow Crew 2K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Jeepers Peepers: WP Syslog 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Write Meow — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Clickable Featured Image 90+ · 3.5★ (2) 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.