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← Rankings

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

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 finder”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20.

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

WEUX Content Finder shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 60+ 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

Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 1148 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 wp.org
1 Shortcodes Finder 4K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #1 2 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #9 7 too low 3 WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Custom field finder 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Feeds for YouTube (YouTube video, channel, and gallery plugin) 100K+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Accessibility Tools & Alt Text Finder 3K+ · 4.9★ (69) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148) wp.org #21 14 too low 8 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #18 ↓4 10 too low 9 Postcodes4U Address Finder 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Agile Store Locator 10K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #22 ↓2 10 too low 13 WP Hooks Finder 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Product Size Charts Plugin for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.3★ (39) wp.org #15 ↑2 1 too low 15 Conflict Finder 100+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Website Internal Link Optimiser 200+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 WEUX Content Finder 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑1 11 too high 18 Source Lens – Code Finder 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓1 11 too high 19 UK Address Postcode Validation 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 BKoding – Orphan Page Finder 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Virus Finder 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 Block Finder 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑2 8 too high 23 Nip Finder 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24 DBlocks Finder – Find Patterns and Blocks 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑7 8 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.