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

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 “phase”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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.

A

Ranked above its merit

Automatic Cache Flusher for W3 Total Cache shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 4K+ 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

Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 103 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Timeline Widget For Elementor (Elementor Timeline, Vertical & Horizontal Timeline) 70K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #5 4 too low 2 Gutenberg 400K+ · 2.1★ (3888) wp.org #2 3 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Website LLMs.txt 50K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Addon Elements for Elementor (formerly Elementor Addon Elements) 80K+ · 4.8★ (172) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 iCalendrier 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing 10K+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 Celestial Lunar Phase Widget 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 8 too high 10 Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103) wp.org #21 11 too low 11 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Timeline Module for Divi 3K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 Paytium: Mollie payment forms & donations 2K+ · 4.5★ (64) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Timeline Block – tell your story with elegant timelines 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 Simple Table Manager 400+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 DoLogin Security 7K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 EZ Horoscope Professional 300+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too high 19 Timeline – Tell Your Story Through Events and Milestones 2K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 DecaLog 1K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Fathom Analytics Conversions 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 CookieBoxs – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent & Google Consent Mode v2 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 A Automatic Cache Flusher for W3 Total Cache 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 Sigma Search & Replace 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓3 7 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.