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← Rankings

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

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 “msg”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

TWT Chat shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its — 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

Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) places #5 on merit, 5.0★ from 332 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 XT Floating Cart for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (149) wp.org #1 2 Quick Download Button 1K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #2 3 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471) wp.org #15 12 too low 4 The School Management – Education & Learning ERP 700+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332) wp.org #20 15 too low 6 OoohBoi Steroids for Elementor 40K+ · 4.8★ (118) wp.org #19 13 too low 7 Jquery Validation For Contact Form 7 8K+ · 4.6★ (87) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 Democracy Poll 6K+ · 4.6★ (86) wp.org #22 14 too low 9 Accept Stripe Payments 20K+ · 4.1★ (114) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 WFatture for WooCommerce Fattureincloud 700+ · 4.9★ (37) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 MSG LLMs TXT Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 9 too high 13 Truth 70+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 BeepMate – Forms to your messaging app 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 Simple Webchat 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 WP User Merger 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Admin Maintenance Message 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 J JTZL's Chat for WebIRC — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Zain Corporations Contact Forms — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Makarski Bot Connector for Telegram — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 TWT Chat — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 DesignYourQR – QR Code Generator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 Cubixsol Multi-Channel Chat & Order Button for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 B Badwolf Web IRC Client — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 10 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.