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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mock test”

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 “mock test”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

تکنوپی برای ووکامرس | Technopay shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 40+ 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

WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon places #3 on merit, 4.7★ from 77 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 FakerPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (205) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Acadlix LMS – AI Quiz Maker, Online Exam & Course Plugin for WordPress 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #19 16 too low 4 utm.codes 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 AI Services 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Simple Payment 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too low 7 Advanced REST API DevTools 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 TheAVCoach Weather Station for WeatherLink 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 WPGraphQL for ACF 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 too high 10 Lagersystem.dk: Parcelpickup locator for Woocommerce 30+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Turgor Exam Engine — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 ShortCut and Dummy Text Generator – build block layouts in seconds 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Kriti AI — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 CheckOO – Checkout Monitor & Uptime Tracker for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Instant Order Status Notifier with Telegram 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Neutrope Quiz Engine — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too low 17 Entries & Media Exporter by Naren Jadav — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 تکنوپی برای ووکامرس | Technopay 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Media Purge – Unused Media Cleaner & Duplicate Finder 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too high 20 CuteJson — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 OrderCraft for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 SandboxPress AI — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Email Preview for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 PushAI – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.