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

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 zip”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

ZIP AI – AI Website Builder & AI Agent shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 2K+ 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

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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 #2 1 too low 2 Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too low 9 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #18 ↑3 9 too low 10 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #13 ↓5 3 too low 11 Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Recipe Cards For Your Food Blog from Zip Recipes 1K+ · 4.8★ (95) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 Plugin Notes Plus 9K+ · 5.0★ (62) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 AWP Classifieds 3K+ · 4.6★ (301) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Plugin Compatibility Checker 9K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Media from ZIP 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 12 too high 20 Export Media as ZIP 3K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 ZIP AI – AI Website Builder & AI Agent 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 13 too high 22 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 KP Zip Downloader 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 zipMoney(Zip Co) Payments Plugin for WooCommerce 2K+ · 2.8★ (8) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.