wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ontario”
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 “ontario”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20.
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.
Buried gem
WP Store Locator places #2 on merit, 4.8★ from 312 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.
Accessibility by AllAccessible 2K+ · 5.0★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #15 ↓1 13 too low 3 
CC Ontario Income Tax Calculator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
HTML5 Maps 4K+ · 4.6★ (45)
wp.org #16 ↓1 12 too low 5 
Ontario HST Calculator — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Brilliant Web-to-Lead for Salesforce 2K+ · 4.4★ (38) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk
wp.org #20 ↓1 14 too low 7 
Royal Access – Accessibility Toolbar & WCAG Tools 60+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #4 3 too high 8 
Small Package Quotes – Purolator Edition 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #5 3 too high 9 
Klarum Accessibility Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #6 3 too high 10 M Mapletools Canadian Mortgage Calculators — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #7 3 too high 11 
SkynetAccessibility Widget 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 
LTL Freight Quotes – Purolator Edition — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 
Plain Cookie Consent — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 
Weels Same-Day Delivery — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 
FizzyTech HST Calculator — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 
Effortless Marketing 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 G GV-RE Listings — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 
AuditWand Accessibility — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 
CC Quebec Income Tax Calculator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 
PCRecruiter Extensions 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 
Autotagger — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓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.