Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “panic”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

World Domination shows at wp.org #8 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 10+ 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

Oliver POS – WooCommerce POS for iPhone, iPad & Android places #5 on merit, 4.2★ from 90 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Definitely allow mobile zooming 7K+ · 5.0★ (54) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 WP Remote Users Sync 6K+ · 4.9★ (73) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 Surbma | Divi & Gravity Forms 9K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Oliver POS – WooCommerce POS for iPhone, iPad & Android 700+ · 4.2★ (90) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Safety Exit 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 7 MaxLimits – Increase Maximum Upload, Post & PHP Limits 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 TrustLens – Fraud Prevention & Chargeback Defense for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 WebPOS – Point of Sale for WooCommerce 50+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 WP Google Street View (with 360° virtual tour) & Google maps + Local SEO 300+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 GM Adaptive CSS Grid Columns — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 World Domination 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too high 13 UpdatePulse Server 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑2 4 too high 14 Koinonia Link 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 CheckoutHawk — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too low 16 Bossy Bulk Editor for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Safe Sites 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 EVelum Safe Browsing — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 Royal AI Firewall 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too low 20 Fatturazione Elettronica WooCommerce veloce e automatica – fatture.help 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 Branexa – White Label, Custom Login & Branding — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too low 22 Webboll Security — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Ozinexus Missed Enquiry Detector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Patcherly — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 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.