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

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 “orbisius”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 10 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

StaticOptimizer shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

1 C Child Theme Creator by Orbisius 10K+ · 4.0★ (44) not PHP-current stale but ranked wp.org #1 2 O Orbisius Simple Notice 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #2 3 O Orbisius Random Name Generator 40+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 4

Event Stream Gallery 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 4 too high 18 O Orbisius Limit Logins 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 1 too high 19 O Orbisius Just Write — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too low 20 E eCommerce Dashboard 10+ · 4.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #22 2 too low 21 O Orbisius Quick Follow 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #21 22 W WP Notes Remover 20+ · 3.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 6 too high 23

StaticOptimizer 10+ · 3.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #6 17 too high 24 O Orbisius Member Only Downloads for S2Member 10+ · 1.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #19 5 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.