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

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 “offline”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 84 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 289 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 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14377) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (549) wp.org #3 4 PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 20K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (707) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1321) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (188) wp.org #9 10 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 700+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (217) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12 Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (289) wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (166) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (194) wp.org #22 ↓10 8 too low 15 Vitepos – Point of Sale (POS) for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (54) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 WPForce Logout – WordPress User Login Logout Management Plugin 8K+ · 4.8★ (66) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 too low 17 WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.7★ (84) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Event Genius – Event Management, Events Calendar, Registration, and RSVP 600+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too high 19 PWA — easy way to Progressive Web App 1K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Advance Bank Payment Transfer Gateway 1K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 Maintenance Switch 700+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 QR Code Woocommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Simple Webchat 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 Order Status Control for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) 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.