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

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 “phpunit”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Substack Importer shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 U Unique Headers 10K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Waymark 900+ · 5.0★ (54) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Lite Video Embed 1K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 P Page Optimize 200K+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 DoubleScale CRM | All-in-One CRM – Sales, Multi-Channel Marketing, Newsletter, Booking, Helpdesk, Automation, MCP & More 80+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too low 6 utm.codes 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Fortnox for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 oik 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 REST API blocks 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 BANKpay+ Instant Bank Payments for WooCommerce (EUR) 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 11 Fstyle Honeypot Bot Blocker 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 12 Quick Admin Launcher 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 Airo WP AI Builder 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 JTZL's Dark Mode 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too low 15 Blocks Monster 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 HameSlack 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 Decouplix Previews & Smart Purge — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Ecrypt Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 APPideas Email Holinator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 WebDig.DEV Analytics 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 A11yFleet – Accessibility Checker for WCAG, ADA & EAA Compliance — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 Wow Chat for Woo – Chatbot, Product Finder, FAQ & Search for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 Substack Importer 1K+ · 2.8★ (4) wp.org #9 14 too high 24 Solr Search for WordPress 100+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 8 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.