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

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

WebP Image Converter & Replacer – Convert to WebP, No Duplicates shows at wp.org #4 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Media Library Assistant places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 202 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Phoenix Media Rename 50K+ · 4.7★ (75) wp.org #1 2 Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #2 3 Oliver POS – WooCommerce POS for iPhone, iPad & Android 700+ · 4.2★ (90) wp.org #3 4 WP eCards – Branded Digital Greeting Cards 300+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #22 17 too low 6 InfiniteWP Client 200K+ · 4.4★ (177) wp.org #19 13 too low 7 Enhanced Ecommerce Google Analytics for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 neo Rename – AI Media Renamer for renaming images & alt text with batch processing 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 Alt Text AI – Automatically generate image alt text for SEO and accessibility 20K+ · 4.7★ (35) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 AEO God Mode – AI Search Visibility 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Easy Voice Mail 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 12 WebP Image Converter & Replacer – Convert to WebP, No Duplicates 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 W WP Server Date Time 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Phoenix Gift for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Phoenix Price Labels for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 Phoenix German Market DHL Multi-Currency Fix for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Media Rename CSV Importer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Event – Add to Calendar 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Metronyx Headless CMS Connector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Payment Gateway for PhoeniXGate on WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Riders Delivery for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 BVK Lightning Donate — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Grandview Rank & Rent Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Postlude — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.