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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “missed posts”

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

Ranked above its merit

Snack Missed Schedule shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200+ 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

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 399 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Missed Scheduled Posts Publisher by WPBeginner 20K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #1 2 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 MWW Scheduled Post Trigger 60K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #4 5 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #16 ↑5 10 too low 7 Auto Featured Image (Auto Post Thumbnail) 40K+ · 3.8★ (119) wp.org #7 8 WP 404 Auto Redirect to Similar Post 30K+ · 4.9★ (113) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #11 ↑4 2 too low 10 Missed Schedule Post Publisher 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too low 13 Australia Post WooCommerce Extension 3K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #20 ↓3 5 too low 16 Seraphinite Post .DOCX Source 800+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 P Posts To-Do List 50+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Snack Missed Schedule 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 13 too high 19 WP Spell Check 2K+ · 2.9★ (39) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓4 2 too low 21 Essential Content Types 20K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Auto Post Publisher 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑5 3 too high 23 S Simple Auto Post Scheduler 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 Scheduled Posts Issue Fixer 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓7 1 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.