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← Rankings

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

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

Store Opening Closing Hours Manager shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 701 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 HireZoot – Job Listings, Career Page & Recruitment Tool 30K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 WPC Smart Quick View for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #22 ↑2 10 too low 13 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 Simple Job Board 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 WPC Smart Compare for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 AddFunc Head & Footer Code 20K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #14 ↑6 4 too high 19 Ocean Modal Window 10K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 Local Business Schema Lite 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Store Opening Closing Hours Manager 300+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #6 ↑1 15 too high 22 Metronet Tag Manager 20K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #24 ↓5 2 too low 23 ITBoffins Live Opening Hours Banner & Table 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 Auto Delete Applications – Add-on for HireZoot 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.