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

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 “numeric”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Meta Keywords for Each Page shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 79 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #1 2 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Slideshow Gallery LITE 5K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Pagination by BestWebSoft – Customizable WordPress Content Splitter and Navigation Plugin 5K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #6 ↓4 7 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too low 8 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #4 ↑1 4 too high 9 All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 W4 Post List 3K+ · 4.7★ (94) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News 30K+ · 4.7★ (79) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Jquery Validation For Contact Form 7 8K+ · 4.6★ (87) wp.org #22 ↓3 10 too low 13 Autover 800+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 RTMForm – Contact Form, Multi-Step Forms & Form Templates for Elementor 30K+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Ajax Cart for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.4★ (39) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Form Input Masks For Elementor Forms 10K+ · 4.1★ (18) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17 Post List Designer – Category Post, Recent Post, Post List 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too high 18 Better Usability for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 Meta Keywords for Each Page 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑2 10 too high 20 Better image sizes 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Justify for Paragraph Block 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22 Permalinks with ID for bbPress 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too high 23 WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Hash Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓8 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.