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← Rankings

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

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

Custom Option Page for ACF shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Options for Twenty Twenty-One 6K+ · 4.9★ (64) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Options for Twenty Seventeen 8K+ · 4.8★ (57) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too low 6 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #5 ↑13 1 too high 7 Extra Product Options For WooCommerce | Custom Product Addons and Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #6 ↑5 1 too high 8 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #21 13 too low 9 Options for Twenty Twenty 3K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Extra Product Sorting Options for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #12 ↓4 2 too low 11 Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 YayExtra – WooCommerce Extra Product Options 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too low 13 AAA Autoload Optimizer 9K+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #14 ↓13 1 too low 14 ACF Options For Polylang 20K+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #8 ↓2 6 too high 15 Product Option Kit – Product Options & Addons for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Simple Product Options for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (35) wp.org #23 ↓3 7 too low 17 TT Extra Fee Option for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.8★ (16) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 Options for Twenty Nineteen 700+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19 More Sorting Options for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #20 ↓6 1 too low 20 Classic Visual Editor Options 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 WPC Product Options for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Custom Option Page for ACF 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23 Options View 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Menu Option 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.