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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “php7”

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 “php7”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

SEUR Oficial shows at wp.org #4 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 194 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Flat Rate per State/Country/Region for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (35) wp.org #1 2 Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator 200K+ · 4.9★ (802) wp.org #9 7 too low 3 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Powie's WHOIS Domain Check 400+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Invisible reCaptcha 70K+ · 4.3★ (133) wp.org #11 ↑6 6 too low 6 Debug Bar 20K+ · 4.1★ (69) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327) wp.org #8 9 AddQuicktag 100K+ · 4.7★ (44) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 Simple Social Icons 100K+ · 4.3★ (92) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11 DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #24 ↓6 13 too low 12 Italy Cookie Choices (for EU Cookie Law & Cookie Notice) 9K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Easy Image Collage 3K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #20 ↑2 7 too low 14 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #21 ↑2 7 too low 15 Genesis Widget Column Classes 5K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Speaker Lite 30+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #2 14 too high 17 Simple Like Page – Fast & Privacy-Friendly Page Embeds 10K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #22 ↑2 5 too low 18 WPC Buy Now Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 PS PHPCaptcha WP — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 14 too high 20 Site Security Auditor – Plugin & File Checks — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 14 too high 21 VOD Infomaniak 20K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too high 22 CloudSecure WP Security 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 WP Gravity Forms Constant Contact Plugin 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 SEUR Oficial 1K+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #4 20 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.