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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “partial maintenance”

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 “partial maintenance”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Albo Pretorio On line shows at wp.org #10 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 1564 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #1 2 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #2 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #3 4 Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP 10K+ · 4.9★ (1233) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ · 5.0★ (133) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #8 9 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Booster for WooCommerce – PDF Invoices, Abandoned Cart, Variation Swatches & 100+ Tools 30K+ · 4.6★ (535) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 W WP FullCalendar 8K+ · 4.7★ (96) wp.org #13 14 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Albo Pretorio On line 700+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Kybernaut IČO DIČ 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 FG PrestaShop to WooCommerce 800+ · 4.7★ (125) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 WP Travel – Ultimate Travel Booking System, Tour Management Engine 3K+ · 4.7★ (164) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Mollie Payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.6★ (69) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Locatoraid Store Locator 1K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Site Lockdown Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Buckaroo Payments for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 FrontBlocks Site Tools 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Automatic Internal Links for SEO by Pagup 900+ · 3.0★ (8) wp.org #21 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.