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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “object oriented”

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 “object oriented”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 2 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

LAPDI Easy Dev Framework shows at wp.org #4 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 11 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

Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 620 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 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #1 2 Wicked Folders – Folder Organizer for Pages, Posts, and Custom Post Types 20K+ · 4.9★ (56) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Disk Usage Sunburst 9K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #17 12 too low 6 a3 Lazy Load 80K+ · 4.3★ (148) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Beautiful taxonomy filters 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #21 13 too low 9 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 Tab Ultimate 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Ventus – Weather Map Widget & Shortcode 3K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 Qode Essential Addons 10K+ · 2.8★ (6) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Custom Profile Picture – Replace Gravatar with Your Own Images 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 LAPDI Easy Dev Framework 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 Actra SMTP 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Affiliates for WooCommerce – Affiliate Program, Referral Tracking & Commission Payouts 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #24 ↓2 7 too low 18 X3P0: Breadcrumbs 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 Unnotifier — disable admin notices individually 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Bizzview – Quick View for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑1 11 too high 21 Mynewsdesk 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 Advanced Redirect Manager 301 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Entry Manager for WPForms – Save Form Entries to Database & Export 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 PDF Flipbook, WPBakery Addon – Unreal FlipBook 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #19 5 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.