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

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 notes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #6 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Plugin Notes Plus 9K+ · 5.0★ (62) wp.org #1 2 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #2 3 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 WP Dashboard Notes 20K+ · 4.6★ (110) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #11 ↑2 5 too low 7 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #12 ↑8 5 too low 8 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #8 ↑6 9 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #14 ↓4 3 too low 12 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #15 ↓4 3 too low 13 Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 User Notes 800+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) wp.org #17 18 Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #18 19 Plugin Load Filter 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Page & Post Notes 1K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #19 ↓4 1 too high 21 KeepInMind Dashboard Notes 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #20 ↓4 1 too high 22 JAMP Notes (Just Another Memo Plugin) 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓5 1 too high 24 WPC Order Notes for WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓2 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.