Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “personalise”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Advanced Country Blocker shows at wp.org #5 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

NextMove Lite – Thank You Page for WooCommerce places #3 on merit, 4.7★ from 150 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Product Input Fields for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.0★ (17) wp.org #1 2 Fluent PDF Generator 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 3 NextMove Lite – Thank You Page for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (150) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too low 4 Change WordPress Admin Logo 400+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #4 5 Easy Property Listings 5K+ · 4.7★ (112) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 PDF Invoices and Packing Slips For WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #6 7 NEX-Forms – Ultimate Forms Plugin for WordPress 5K+ · 4.1★ (135) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 MaxiBlocks Builder | 17,000+ Design Assets, Patterns, Icons & Starter Sites 600+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #8 9 Mass Email To Users 800+ · 3.1★ (8) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 CatalogX Product Catalog, Product Enquiry & Quotes for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (60) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 D Drop Shadow Boxes 3K+ · 5.0★ (77) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Advanced Country Blocker 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Product Option Kit – Product Options & Addons for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑4 4 too high 14 TuriTop Booking System 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 TopSMS 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 16 SwiftERM — · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓2 6 too low 17 Joinotify – WhatsApp Notifications & Marketing Automation 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Smartfish Accessibility 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 SellQro – Contact Form and Lead CRM — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Mapp Intelligence 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Fast Events 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 NEX-Forms ADD ON – Digital Signatures 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 NEX-Forms ADD ON – Form Themes 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Merchr Print on Demand UK 20+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.