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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “nice select”

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 “nice select”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 6 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

Nice Select for WordPress shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 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

Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 851 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #1 2 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #2 3 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #10 ↑2 6 too low 5 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 YITH WooCommerce Wishlist 400K+ · 3.9★ (262) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 List category posts 80K+ · 4.7★ (254) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Menu Icons by Themeisle – Add Icons to Navigation Menus 100K+ · 4.9★ (851) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Bogo 10K+ · 4.5★ (48) wp.org #12 ↓2 13 Auto Image Attributes From Filename With Bulk Updater (Add Alt Text, Image Title For Image SEO) 100K+ · 4.8★ (93) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 CMB2 300K+ · 5.0★ (91) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136) wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too low 18 WP Responsive Menu 30K+ · 4.3★ (100) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Organization chart 5K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 Product Labels For Woocommerce (Sale Badges) 10K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Smart phone field for Gravity Forms 5K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Nice Select for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 19 too high 23 WPC Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #23 24 StoreBuild – Online Store Builder for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.