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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pdf metadata”

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 “pdf metadata”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

PDF for Forminator Forms + Drag and Drop Template Builder shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 200+ 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

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery 70K+ · 4.8★ (182) wp.org #1 2 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #12 ↓4 9 too low 4 Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #14 ↑3 10 too low 5 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too low 6 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #17 ↓3 11 too low 7 PDF for Elementor Forms + Drag And Drop Template Builder 1K+ · 3.9★ (11) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Print My Blog – Print, PDF, & eBook Converter WordPress Plugin 8K+ · 4.8★ (115) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Advanced Order Export For WooCommerce 100K+ · 5.0★ (350) wp.org #19 ↓3 10 too low 10 WowInvoice – PDF Invoices & Packing Slips 100+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Firelight Lightbox 200K+ · 4.8★ (361) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 Booster for WooCommerce – PDF Invoices, Abandoned Cart, Variation Swatches & 100+ Tools 30K+ · 4.6★ (535) wp.org #13 ↓7 1 too low 13 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too low 14 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #23 ↓3 9 too low 15 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) wp.org #16 ↑7 17 WebEquipe PDF Search 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↓1 13 too high 18 ImageRecycle pdf & image compression 1K+ · 4.5★ (26) wp.org #18 ↓3 19 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 Rapls PDF Image Creator – PDF Thumbnails & Featured Images 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 11 too high 21 Posts to PDF – Backend Batch Export 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 PDF for Forminator Forms + Drag and Drop Template Builder 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 17 too high 23 FLUX PDF FLIP 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 PDF Flipbook, WPBakery Addon – Unreal FlipBook 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.