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

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 “minimal”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 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.

M

Ranked above its merit

Minimal Maintenance Mode shows at wp.org #2 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 900+ 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

Post Views Counter places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1236 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 Minimal Coming Soon – Coming Soon Page 100K+ · 4.3★ (282) wp.org #1 2 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 CAOS | Host Google Analytics Locally 10K+ · 4.9★ (128) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130) wp.org #10 ↓3 5 too low 6 Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) wp.org #9 ↑15 3 too low 7 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 BlogVault Backup & Staging 80K+ · 4.6★ (332) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Flying Analytics: Self-Host Google Analytics v4 with Speed Optimization 4K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 Labinator Minimal Maintenance Mode 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 SimpleTOC – Table of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Log in with Google 6K+ · 4.6★ (17) wp.org #8 ↓2 5 too high 14 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88) wp.org #23 ↓4 8 too low 16 Remove Footer Credit 60K+ · 4.7★ (88) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17 Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #22 ↓4 5 too low 18 WC Price History 5K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too high 19 Smooth Back To Top Button 40K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Minimal Share Buttons 100+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #11 ↓2 9 too high 21 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #24 ↓4 3 too low 22 M Minimal Maintenance Mode 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 20 too high 23 DreamHost Automated Migration 20K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too high 24 Themify Portfolio Post 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 10 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.