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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “online queue”

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 “online queue”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 6 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

Carta Online shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 820 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 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #1 2 RestroPress – Online Food Ordering System 1K+ · 4.4★ (102) wp.org #2 3 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #3 4 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 100K+ · 4.6★ (820) wp.org #18 ↓3 10 too low 9 Zero Spam for WordPress 20K+ · 4.1★ (143) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #16 ↑4 6 too low 11 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #13 ↓2 14 Newsletters 2K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Houzez Property Feed 1K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 JS Help Desk – AI-Powered Support & Ticketing System 7K+ · 3.7★ (74) wp.org #21 ↓2 4 too low 18 WCPOS – Point of Sale (POS) plugin for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.7★ (84) wp.org #20 ↓4 2 too low 19 Modal Window – create popup modal window 10K+ · 3.8★ (36) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 Social Post Flow – Social Media Automation, Scheduling, Scheduler, Posting & Auto Post 200+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 WooCommerce Square 80K+ · 2.1★ (121) wp.org #12 ↑1 9 too high 22 BuddyPilot Withdrawal – Easy Returns for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Carta Online 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑3 14 too high 24 Organizers Embed – Action Network for WordPress 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.