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

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 “night”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

WooCommerce Accommodation Bookings shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.1★ average from 16 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events places #8 on merit, 4.5★ from 292 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Darkify – Dark Mode & Night Mode for Website & Admin (Dark Theme Included) 1K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #1 2 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Darklup – Enhanced WordPress Dark Mode, Dark Theme, Night Mode & Accessibility Plugin 1K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Accessibility Widget by OneTap – Easy One-Click Accessibility Toolbar 60K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 BA Book Everything 10K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Dark Mode Toggle 2K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Pinpoint Booking System – Legacy version 2K+ · 3.6★ (185) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 PI Conditional cart fee / Extra charge rule for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 DarkLooks – Dark Mode Switcher For WordPress 800+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too high 13 Night Mode 30+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #3 10 too high 14 Easy Booking – WooCommerce Booking & Reservation Plugin 4K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #15 ↓6 1 too low 15 Availability Datepicker – Booking Calendar for Contact Form 7 – Input WP 10K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Booking and Rental Manager for Bike | Car | Resort | Appointment | Dress | Equipment 1K+ · 4.4★ (33) wp.org #13 ↑3 3 too high 17 WP Hotelier 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 DarkMySite – Advanced Dark Mode Plugin for WordPress 900+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Booking Calendar Contact Form 500+ · 3.6★ (32) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Dark Reader – Beautiful Dark Mode for any Website 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 21 Easy Booking Calendar for WooCommerce 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 WooCommerce Accommodation Bookings 1K+ · 2.1★ (16) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 Easy-Peasy.AI Chatbot 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Night Code Lab QR Studio — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 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.