Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “networking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

NodeInfo(2) shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 698 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Social Icons 100K+ · 4.3★ (92) wp.org #1 2 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #2 3 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Metricool – Social media and site statistics 90K+ · 4.4★ (22) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 WP Offload SES Lite 10K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) wp.org #6 ↑3 7 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 GEO my WP 3K+ · 4.6★ (139) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) wp.org #17 ↑3 8 too low 10 Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 WPC Smart Wishlist for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249) wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 MembershipWorks – Membership, Events & Directory 2K+ · 4.4★ (37) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Wise Chat 4K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Social Rocket – Social Sharing Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #9 ↓2 8 too high 18 Event Countdown for The Events Calendar 3K+ · 4.6★ (48) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Event Monster – Event Manager, Event Booking, Event Ticket & Registration 600+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 WP Social Widget 4K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 FluentAffiliate – Affiliate Program Management Suite, Affiliates Manager 2K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #21 ↑1 22 oik 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 NodeInfo(2) 900+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 Candy Social Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 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.