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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “output buffer”

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 “output buffer”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Unagi shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 800+ 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

Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 284 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 Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125) wp.org #1 2 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Shariff Wrapper 30K+ · 4.9★ (101) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too low 5 JSM Force HTTP to HTTPS / SSL – No Setup, Fast and Reliable 7K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 Minify HTML 10K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #8 9 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #17 ↑4 8 too low 10 Fluent Booking – The Ultimate Appointments Scheduling, Events Booking, Events Calendar Solution 20K+ · 4.7★ (46) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #23 ↑1 12 too low 12 Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 Easy Appointment Booking & Scheduling Plugin – Webba Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 Shortcode Redirect 10K+ · 4.3★ (31) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 WP Console – WordPress PHP Console powered by PsySH 20K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Whitespace Fixer for XML Sitemap 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 Post Status Notifier Lite 700+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 Unagi 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 Init View Count – AI-Powered, Trending, REST API 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 Easy Search Replace – Find & Replace Text/HTML/URLs, Remove Footer Credit 700+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Prime Cache – Page Cache on Activation & One-Click Speed Optimization 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 A Alios Media Offload 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.