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← Rankings

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

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 “newlines”, 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

List Locations BMLT shows at wp.org #4 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 80+ 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

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress places #3 on merit, 4.5★ from 155 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Import Social Events 3K+ · 4.8★ (116) wp.org #1 2 R Raw HTML 10K+ · 4.3★ (33) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 Email and Domain Blocker for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Easy YouTube Gallery 500+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Easy Search Replace – Find & Replace Text/HTML/URLs, Remove Footer Credit 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Simple Banner – Easily add multiple Banners/Bars/Notifications/Announcements to the top or bottom of your website 50K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #22 15 too low 8 Conditional Payments for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (28) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 Virtual Robots.txt 40K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 List Locations BMLT 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Freebie for Contact Form 7 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 DevDome Activity Log: Track WordPress User Activity 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Draft Post Generator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Calucon Third-Party Embed Gate 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 MDL Local Service Lead Validator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Obydullah Fitness Content Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Rowsync — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 SEOries Markdown Generator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Kaderlab AI Transparency Kit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Quillrush Newsletter Studio for Sendy — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Beziworld – Activity Log — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 WDOnline Product CSV Manager for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Disposable Email Blocker for WooCommerce – Block Fake and Temporary Emails at Checkout — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 CalDav Calendar Viewer — · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.