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

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 “ping”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Baidu Ping Booster shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 40+ 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

wpForo Forum places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 390 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 signals wp.org

No Self Ping 10K+ · 4.5★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #1 2

Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #5 3 too low 3

XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #7 ↑3 4 too low 4

OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #11 ↓3 7 too low 5

Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #16 11 too low 6

OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7

GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8

License Manager for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (147) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9

wpForo Forum 20K+ · 4.7★ (390) wp.org #21 ↓4 12 too low 10

Auto Ping Booster 900+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #2 8 too high 11

Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12

Kama SpamBlock 4K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #9 3 too high 13

Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #13 ↓1 14

WebSub (FKA. PubSubHubbub) 100K+ · 5.0★ (6) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #6 8 too high 15

Custom Payment Gateways for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #19 3 too low 17

JoomSport – for Sports: Team & League, Football, Hockey & more 1K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18

Mass Ping Tool for SEO – WordPress ping list to get indexed faster on Google, Yandex, … 400+ · 3.0★ (4) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 15 too high 19

ReCrawler 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20

Disabler 900+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #22 2 too low 21

Baidu Ping Booster 40+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #4 17 too high 22

Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑1 12 too high 23

Grandranker 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too high 24

Omni Ping List Checker 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews 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.