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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “metro social widget”

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 “metro social widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 19. 2 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

SimpleSocial shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #1 2 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #2 3 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #3 4 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Nobs • Share Buttons 3K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #6 7 Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Premium Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Patterns & Templates 2K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Turbo Addons Elementor 3K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Metro Style Social Widget 300+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Popular Brand Icons – Simple Icons 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 LandTech Extras for Elementor 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Ultimate Classified Listings – Classifieds, Directory & Marketplace 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 14 Ultimate Bootstrap Elements for Elementor 6K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 All-in-one Widget 100+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Metro Share Widget 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 F flodjiShare 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 S SocialWiggle 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19

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.