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

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 “plaintext”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

PressGo AI — Landing Page & Website Builder for Elementor shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Subscribe2 – Form, Email Subscribers & Newsletters 10K+ · 3.5★ (116) wp.org #2 3 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #3 4 Plaintext for the Newsletter plugin 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Add Plain-Text Email 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 6 AxiaChat AI – Free AI Chatbot (Answers Customers Automatically) 500+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 P PostmarkApp Email Integrator 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 SiteFort Security – Malware Scanner, Firewall, Login Security & Hardening 50+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Vaaky Highlighter — Syntax Highlighter, Code Blocks, Line Numbers for Gutenberg 10+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓2 10 WP All Import – User Import Add-On 4K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Ecomail 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 ForthFocus SMS – OTP Verification, Order Notifications & Indian DLT for WooCommerce 20+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓5 12 too low 13 Advanced Pixel for Barion 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Keskintech Marketplaces — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 LoginArmor – Email 2FA 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too high 16 Picot MCP 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓3 17 Moonrank Integration 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Sokket – MCP Server: Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor & Any AI Agent to WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Yard | Warden 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 Scrutoscope – WordPress Performance Profiler 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 Lorem Ipsum by Webline 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 GreenPay Payment Service 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 WordSocket — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24 PressGo AI — Landing Page & Website Builder for Elementor 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓3 9 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.