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

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 “pii”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 8 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

IP Locator shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 500+ 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

DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 99 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #1 2 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) wp.org #2 3 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #3 4 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 APCu Manager 10K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 WPMR Google Feed Manager for WooCommerce – Sell on Google Merchant Center & Shopping 10K+ · 4.5★ (127) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Proxy & VPN Blocker 1K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99) wp.org #19 ↑1 11 too low 9 WeShareAI – AI-Powered Share Buttons (formerly E-MAILiT) 600+ · 4.3★ (65) wp.org #20 ↓1 11 too low 10 DecaLog 1K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 OPcache Manager 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 Identity Verification for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13 Sessions 900+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Simple Webstats 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 oEmbed Manager 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Subtle Icons – SVG Icon Block Suite, Icon Picker & ACF Field 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 TrueROAS AI Ad Attribution 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Apache Status & Info 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 MailArchiver 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 wallee 400+ · 2.7★ (9) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Database Anonymization Free Edition 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓3 5 too high 22 PIIP – PII Protection — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 IP Locator 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too high 24 Device Detector 500+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #17 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.