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

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 “minimalist”, 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

Minimalist Stripe Checkout for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 30+ 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

Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress places #4 on merit, 4.7★ from 158 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 Perfect Brands for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.7★ (414) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Timetable and Event Schedule by MotoPress 30K+ · 4.3★ (69) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 SlingBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks by FunnelKit (Formerly WooFunnels) 6K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 too high 6 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Hide Tooltips on Hover – Clean Up Title Attributes Without Losing Accessibility 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #7 8 WP Video Popup – WordPress Video Lightbox for YouTube, Rumble & Vimeo 9K+ · 4.1★ (43) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Latest Posts 4K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Pixel Gallery Addons for Elementor 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Automatic Translator with Google Translate 2K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Minimalist Stripe Checkout for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Search Modal Block 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 MCRPD Regenerate Download Permissions for woocommerce 70+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑3 3 too low 16 Smart Brands for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Speedx – Maintenance Mode 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Folderify – Media Library Folders 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 CookieHub – Cookie Consent Banner (DSGVO, CCPA, RGPD and GDPR compliance) 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too high 20 Init Ad Engine – Flexible, Multi-Format, Secure 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 LegalWeb Cloud 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 23 Advance Custom HTML – Show Off Code Snippets with Live Preview 10K+ · 2.5★ (4) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Guestplan Booking Widget 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.