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← Rankings

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

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 “nbsp”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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

Breezy shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP2Social Auto Publish places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 640 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 JSM Non-Breaking Space (nbsp) for French Content 1K+ · 4.6★ (15) wp.org #1 2 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #14 ↓1 12 too low 3 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #18 ↑1 15 too low 4 WP2Social Auto Publish 9K+ · 4.8★ (640) wp.org #20 ↓2 16 too low 5 Euro FxRef Currency Converter (by DKZR) 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 6 WP Twitter Auto Publish 3K+ · 4.9★ (206) wp.org #21 ↓2 15 too low 7 Empty P Tag 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #23 ↓2 15 too low 9 Table for Divi 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Block Editor Bootstrap Blocks 900+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Variation Price Display Range for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #24 ↓1 12 too low 13 French Typo 200+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #4 9 too high 14 Zalomení 6K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too low 15 Quicktags for WP 100+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Lineate — Poetry Blocks 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Speedx Smart Line Breaks 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 Gridable 4K+ · 2.9★ (10) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 NMR jsGrid — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 MITS No Lonely Words — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 NextGen Skills Lab Bangla Font — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Breezy 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Content Polisher – Content Quality & Cleanup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 MyelophOne SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓2 8 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.