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

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 science”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Advance Custom HTML – Show Off Code Snippets with Live Preview shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

EmbedPress places #2 on merit, 4.8★ from 307 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too low 3 PowerPress Podcasting plugin by Blubrry 20K+ · 4.6★ (231) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too low 4 B Book Review Library 200+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 HAL 600+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Social Rocket – Social Sharing Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Custom Contact Forms 6K+ · 3.5★ (171) wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too low 8 Quill Forms | Conversational Multi Step Forms, Surveys & quizzes 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too low 9 M MathJax-LaTeX 10K+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too low 10 A Access Areas for WordPress 400+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #21 ↓2 11 too low 11 Scientific and Interactive Blocks – inseri core 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 8 too high 12 Mon Laboratoire 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Static Site Exporter 400+ · 3.5★ (12) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 IssueM 600+ · 4.1★ (13) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 Calorie Calculator 100+ · 3.4★ (10) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Optimal State – Advanced Optimization, Performance & Security Suite 30+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 Scrollchart 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Jetpack Stats 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 Advance Custom HTML – Show Off Code Snippets with Live Preview 10K+ · 2.5★ (4) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 DadsFam Cache 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Wisdom Journal Manager – Research Paper/Process Management 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 FediStation — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 X Xcodesol Commerce Workflows — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 WP Jerusalem Post 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.