Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “operating hours”

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 “operating hours”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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.

Ranked above its merit

PlexBlocks – Business Hours for Block Editor shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 90+ 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

Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 184 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 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #1 2 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #2 3 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #9 ↑3 5 too low 5 E-cab Taxi Booking Manager for Woocommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #17 ↓1 10 too low 8 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #23 13 too low 11 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13 Text To Speech TTS Accessibility 4K+ · 4.8★ (92) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16 Rox Appointment Booking – Event, Calendar & Appointment Scheduling 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 Base (formerly BaseLinker) – 300+ marketplaces, 150+ carriers & PIM & OMS & WMS in one 5K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too high 18 FoodOrd – Online Food Ordering & Table Reservation System 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too high 19 Plugin Compatibility Checker 9K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Contact Button – The All-in-One Website Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑1 13 too high 21 Occupancy Plan 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too high 22 User IP and Location 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 PlexBlocks – Business Hours for Block Editor 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 Orivo Business Hours Block 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓1 16 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.