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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “notify post”

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 “notify post”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Post Notify Users shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #7 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #1 2 Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #2 3 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 bbPress Notify (No-Spam) 2K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 Fatal Error Notify 6K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Manage Notification E-mails 100K+ · 4.8★ (56) wp.org #10 11 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #14 ↑3 3 too low 12 Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 Bulk Edit Posts and Products in Spreadsheet 7K+ · 4.8★ (217) wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14 Pingo Notify – Automation & Notification Chat Messages 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Post Status Notifier Lite 700+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Easy Notify Lite 300+ · 3.3★ (18) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Post Notify Users 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 Default Post Author 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Publish Post Email Notification 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓4 5 too high 23 Hey Notify 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Receive Notifications After Form Submitting – Form Notify for Any Forms 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.