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

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 “pipe”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

JumpsuitAI – llms.txt + Markdown Endpoints shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Text To Speech TTS Accessibility places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 92 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #1 2 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #2 3 WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Contact Form 7 – PayPal & Stripe Add-on 7K+ · 4.2★ (125) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 Tooltipy (tooltips for WP) 1K+ · 4.6★ (68) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Text To Speech TTS Accessibility 4K+ · 4.8★ (92) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Affiliate Links – Link Cloaking and Management 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Affiliate Sales in Google Analytics and other tools 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Able Player, accessible HTML5 media player 300+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Stock Ticker 2K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Prevent XSS Vulnerability 6K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Tag Pilot FREE – Google Tag Manager Integration for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 JumpsuitAI – llms.txt + Markdown Endpoints 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 All Users Filter 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 S Safe Report Comments 100+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Product Dropdown Field For Contact Form 7 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too high 19 Pipe Audio Video and Screen Recorder 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 WP All Import – User Import Add-On 4K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Q QH Markdown Exporter 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Animated Text Widget for Elementor 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Order Dropdown WooCommerce For Contact Form 7 10+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #23 1 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.