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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “open sans”

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 “open sans”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

Simple Open Graphs – Social Sharing, Open Graph, Twitter Cards & Rich Previews shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 20+ 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

CartBounty – Save and recover abandoned carts for WooCommerce places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 84 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts, Adobe Fonts & Upload Fonts 200K+ · 5.0★ (1220) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Button visually impaired 10K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 mPDF add-on for RTL and Unicode Support 4K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Coming Soon Maintenance Mode 7K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Easy Media Download 9K+ · 4.0★ (28) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Mapster WP Maps 3K+ · 4.9★ (54) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too low 7 CartBounty – Save and recover abandoned carts for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 OGEEAT 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too high 9 Copy Anything to Clipboard for WordPress – Copy Button, Copy Text & Copy Code 10K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10 Login Armor 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Ultimate Watermark – Image Watermark, Image Protection & Bulk Watermarking 1K+ · 3.3★ (11) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 SeatReg 300+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 WP Responsive Auto Fit Text 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Simple Ebook Viewer 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 Verse of the Day Widget for WP 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 CDI – Collect and Deliver Interface for Woocommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 PressPrimer Certificate – Certificate Designer & Course Certification for Your LMS 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Simple Open Graphs – Social Sharing, Open Graph, Twitter Cards & Rich Previews 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Selfish Fresh Start 20+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Social Media Card Generator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Creotec Title Card Images for Open Graph — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 22 Limbus Maintenance Page & Shop Pause 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 Global Weather Pro: Weather Widget for WordPress 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Flavor – Restaurant Menu & Table Reservations 80+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓3 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.