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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “outdated plugins”

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For “outdated plugins”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 2 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: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

Outdated Template Updater for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 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1 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Outdated Plugin Notifier 400+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #4 5 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Testimonial – Testimonial Slider and Showcase Plugin 20K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #9 10 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #21 ↑2 11 too low 11 Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #22 ↓2 10 too low 13 Logo Slider – Logo Showcase, Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery and Client Logo Presentation 30K+ · 4.7★ (252) wp.org #13 14 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 AI Translation For TranslatePress 10K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #15 16 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #17 ↑4 1 too low 17 Plugin Compatibility Checker 9K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Core Rollback 20K+ · 4.7★ (16) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Easy Booking – WooCommerce Booking & Reservation Plugin 4K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too high 22 Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships 8K+ · 3.1★ (100) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Outdated Template Updater for WooCommerce 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 k-OutDated Checker (k-OC) 60+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #10 14 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.