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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “plugin editor.php”

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 “plugin editor.php”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Product Bulk Editor for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Classic Editor 8M+ · 4.9★ (1251) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Mu Manager – Manage mu-plugins like standard plugins 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Ultimate Markdown – Markdown Editor, Importer, & Exporter 2K+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Guardify Firewall 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 YITH WooCommerce Brands Add-On 8K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Uix Shortcodes 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 C Categories by Tag Table 20+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Client-proof Visual Editor 70+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Fenton Digital Badges — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 C Code Revisions 10+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Better Admin Pointers 10+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Better Admin Help Tabs 30+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Pixlio – Image Editor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 L Lorem Ipsum for WP Editor 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Multilingual Comments Number 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Simple Editor Control – File History, Diff & Restore 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Vehizo 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Advanced Pixel Editor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 L Lock PHP Files — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Product Bulk Editor for WooCommerce 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Better Code Editor 10+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 W WP Live CSS Editor 100+ · 2.5★ (10) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 M My CSS Editor 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 P Page Translator 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 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.