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← Rankings

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

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 “paginate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 6 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

LinkGather shows at wp.org #8 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 60+ 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

Portfolio, Gallery, Product Catalog – Grid KIT Portfolio places #7 on merit, 4.4★ from 300 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP-Paginate 20K+ · 4.6★ (107) wp.org #1 2 Latest Post Shortcode 4K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) wp.org #4 5 GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Document Gallery 8K+ · 4.8★ (112) wp.org #9 ↑4 3 too low 7 Portfolio, Gallery, Product Catalog – Grid KIT Portfolio 6K+ · 4.4★ (300) wp.org #20 ↓2 13 too low 8 MP3 Audio Player – Music Player, Podcast Player & Radio by Sonaar 20K+ · 4.8★ (302) wp.org #17 ↓3 9 too low 9 Contact Form Widget – Responsive Contact Form, Query Form & Form Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Back and Forward Button 200+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #5 ↑3 5 too high 11 Medialist 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↓3 3 too low 12 TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓3 13 Email and Domain Blocker for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 D Display Product Variations Dropdown on Shop Page 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 LinkGather 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 7 too high 16 Smooth SMTP 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too low 17 Dashboard and Analytics for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 Ultimate Form – Multi-Step Form Builder, Conversion Analytics & Lead Forms 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 WP Event Calendar 30+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Media Cleaner – Clean unused media, Clear unwanted media 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓4 3 too low 21 D DB Table Viewer 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Nearby Now Reviews and Audio Testimonials 900+ · 2.6★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓3 7 too high 23 jobs_that_makesense 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓4 2 too high 24 Certloom – Certificate Verification 20+ · 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.