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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “movable content”

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

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

WP Image Cropper shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Wicked Folders – Folder Organizer for Pages, Posts, and Custom Post Types places #3 on merit, 4.9★ from 56 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 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (151) wp.org #5 4 too low 2 Movable Type and TypePad Importer 20K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Wicked Folders – Folder Organizer for Pages, Posts, and Custom Post Types 20K+ · 4.9★ (56) wp.org #9 6 too low 4 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 ActivityStream extension 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Contextly Recommends 100+ · 3.8★ (23) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Digital Table of Contents 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Draggable Content – create layouts visitors can move and explore 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Movable Background Gallery Block — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 ODD — Apps for OpenStation 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 TimeGuard – Freelancer Time Log Pro — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Uplink Analytics Dashboard for Cabin 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 AdminGrip — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 ArticleDrop – AI Article Writer and Image Generator — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 SimpleStamp Designer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 EditRail — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Image Split – Before/After Image Comparison Slider — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 ViDesigner Christmas Calendar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Iza Product Designer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 DanhThong Print Design Upload — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 MisticEase – Floating Video & Image Popups — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 WP Image Cropper 80+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 Block Collections — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 LotPress Inventory — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.