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

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 “police”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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.

S

Ranked above its merit

Spanish Chat shows at wp.org #9 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its — 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

Timeline Express places #4 on merit, 4.3★ from 165 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Digital Signature Add-on for WooCommerce 900+ · 3.1★ (19) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Signature Add-On for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Simple Fonts Loader 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Timeline Express 8K+ · 4.3★ (165) wp.org #19 ↓1 15 too low 5 Ninja Forms Signature Contract Add-On 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Bitcoin and Altcoin Wallets 50+ · 4.8★ (27) wp.org #23 ↓2 17 too low 7 BD Address Fields for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too high 8 Sirdata CMP 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Sudwire Newsroom – Local News from Official Sources 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 C Champis.net — · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Spreadconnect 600+ · 2.8★ (9) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 Y Yumyoda CopWatchdog — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 E E-Challan Check Punjab – PSCA — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 WP Nearby Places Basic 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15 S Spanish Chat — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 Kumibox-info — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 My Trail Camera — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 ObitMaker Lite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 XO Magic Box Light — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 D DLIMS Verify, Track & E-License Punjab — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Verify AI Agents & Block Fake AI Bots | AxioRank — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Znajdź Pracę z Praca.pl 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 GPSem.io 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Easy Custom Event Tickets 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.