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

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 “netlify”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

SimpleSocial shows at wp.org #16 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 100+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #1 2 Staatic – Static Site Generator for WordPress 3K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #2 3 Popular Brand Icons – Simple Icons 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓4 12 too low 4 Settings for WooNuxt 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 Build Trigger for Gatsby 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Alt Text Pro – AI Alt Text Generator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 7 Aouwal Static Site Export – Static Site Generator — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 JAMstack Deployments 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓4 11 too low 9 Static Cache Wrangler 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓3 2 too high 10 Deploy with NetlifyPress 200+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓4 8 too low 11 E Elbutschitos HTML Publisher — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓3 3 too high 12 Statixly – Static Site Generator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too high 13 Masetti Static Site Publisher — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Web Wonderland SEO Image Optimiser — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓3 3 too high 15 Decouplix Previews & Smart Purge — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓3 3 too high 16 PerfLocale — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17 VCNS Security Automation Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓3 4 too high 18 NexWordX — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Publish to Netlify 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too high 20 Overedge Connector 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓4 21 SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓4 5 too high 22 Gatey – Login & SSO with Amazon Cognito 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓5 1 too low 23 Deploy Webhook Button 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓5 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.