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← Rankings

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

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 “occupation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 4 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Reservit Hotel shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

S

Buried gem

Seamless Donations is Sunset places #5 on merit, 4.1★ from 70 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #1 2 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Schema Package – Structured Data & Rich Snippets Tool for SEO 200+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 GedShow 200+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 S Seamless Donations is Sunset 2K+ · 4.1★ (70) wp.org #15 ↓1 10 too low 6 ProSolution WP Client 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 Scrollbar Designer 90+ · 4.6★ (8) wp.org #22 ↓1 15 too low 8 Financial Calculator 400+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9 Schema Markup Generator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 AP Casework Manager – Client Management for Genealogists — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 EEAT WP 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 AP One-Name Studies – Surname Study & Distribution Maps — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 DominoForm – Advanced Contact Form, Polls, Survey & Quiz Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Huckabuy — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15 Carta Online 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 MyBooking Reservation Engine 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 WP Schema & Structured Data 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 W Work Time Allocator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 F Full Detail From Email — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Rank With Schema 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 Audience Analytics – by Quantcast 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 Reservit Hotel 300+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↓1 19 too high 23 Ciusan Nice Scroll 10+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 C Collapsible User Profile Display — · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.