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

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 “pingbacks”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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 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

SiteGuard WP Plugin shows at wp.org #3 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 600K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 1962 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 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too low 4 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too low 5 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #19 ↓5 14 too low 6 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 too low 7 Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25) wp.org #5 ↑2 3 too high 9 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #10 ↑3 1 too low 10 Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Disable XML-RPC Pingback 60K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 ↓1 11 too high 14 Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions 60K+ · 4.7★ (181) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16 WP Coder – Insert & Manage Code Snippets 10K+ · 4.9★ (32) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #3 ↑1 14 too high 18 XO Security 30K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Simple Disable XML-RPC 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Hide Trackbacks 300+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 Remove XML-RPC Methods 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 23 Add Pingbacks 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 14 too high 24 Turn Comments Off 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.