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

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 “organisation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Tabby Checkout shows at wp.org #5 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

JS Help Desk – AI-Powered Support & Ticketing System places #8 on merit, 3.7★ from 74 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #1 2 Simple Org Chart 900+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #2 3 Display Eventbrite Events 2K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 LLMs.txt and LLMs-Full.txt Generator 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Trusty Whistleblowing Solution 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 Donorbox – Free Recurring Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 8K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 JS Help Desk – AI-Powered Support & Ticketing System 7K+ · 3.7★ (74) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Super Video player – Fully Customizable Video Player with Playlist 2K+ · 4.2★ (30) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 AC Advanced Flamingo Settings 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑2 6 too high 11 SVG Flags – Country Flag Blocks and Galleries 2K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Document Library Lite 4K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 Address Validation and Autocomplete for WooCommerce | Addressfinder 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 UK Address Postcode Validation 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 HelloAsso 4K+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too high 16 Menu Backup & Restore + Import/Export 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules for WooCommerce 600+ · 4.0★ (13) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 Easy!Appointments 500+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Tabby Checkout 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 14 too high 20 GovernDocs Document Management – Agenda, Minutes, Meetings, Reports & more 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Markdown for Agents and Statistics 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 CorvusPay WooCommerce Payment Gateway 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Post Forwarder 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Syncio — Multistore Product & Inventory Sync For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.