Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “poets”

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 “poets”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Galaktion Tabidze shows at wp.org #9 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its — installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

IP Geo Block places #5 on merit, 4.2★ from 95 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 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #1 2 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #8 6 too low 3 QuoteFrameShare – Beautiful Blockquotes with Citation, Copy & Social Share 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Spiffy Calendar 2K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #14 10 too low 5 IP Geo Block 7K+ · 4.2★ (95) wp.org #20 15 too low 6 Lineate — Poetry Blocks 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Artificial Poets – AI for WP, Image Generation, & More 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 ↑2 3 too high 8 Payhip – Sell Downloads 200+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 A Artificial Poets Reusable Components CDN — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 Blocks for Bandcamp 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Fale Hafez 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Add-on Gravity Forms – MailPoet 3 600+ · 3.1★ (8) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 FAQ Builder AYS 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 14 Galaktion Tabidze — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Redact — Blackout & Erasure Poetry — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Gaudério 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 PF Secure Toolkit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 Enlightened Images Alt Text Generator 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 1Beyt 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 V Vachana Sanchaya Daily Vachana Widget — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 P POEMAS — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 P Poetry 10+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #21 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.