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

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 last updated”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

Force First and Last Name as Display Name shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #1 2 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #4 ↑3 2 too low 3 When Last Login 40K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Last Modified Info 40K+ · 4.9★ (854) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 WP Last Login 10K+ · 3.8★ (26) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #7 ↑2 8 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #20 ↑1 8 too low 13 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Force First and Last Name as Display Name 2K+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 Last Modified Timestamp 6K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Plugins Last Updated Column 600+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 Admin Dashboard Last Edits 900+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Outdated Plugin Notifier 400+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Vendi Abandoned Plugin Check 1K+ · 4.1★ (10) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 R Recently Updated Pages and Posts 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.