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

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 “mirroring”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

Svea Checkout for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #8 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 800+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #1 2 WP Search with Algolia 7K+ · 4.5★ (24) wp.org #2 3 Pure Metafields 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Siren Affiliates – Affiliate & Partner Program Manager for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 JetHost Total Care – Security & Enhancements 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 6 Static Porter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Tanvir Block — · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Svea Checkout for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Icon Box Block – Insert your favorite icon with customization and design 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 10 SheetLink Forms for Google Sheets and Excel 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 SendForce Mail SMTP Relay – SMTP and Email API 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓4 5 too low 12 Shadow Terms 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 MediaPilot AI – Media Library Folders, Cleanup & AI Metadata 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 RTL Tester Mirror by WebMan 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 HyperPress | Hypermedia for WordPress (HTMX or Datastar) 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too high 16 HandyPay Payments 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑5 4 too high 17 Init Recent Comments – Templated, Modern, Minimal 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 HB Jewish Calendar 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 19 OptiFlow WebP Media 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 ScriptTrace: JS Error Logger — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 Advanced Pixel Editor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Markdown Mirror for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 StaticForge for Cloudflare Pages 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too high 24 Briqpay for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓5 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.