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

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 “portable”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Init Embed Posts – Stylish, Fast, Portable shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) places #7 on merit, 4.2★ from 420 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2 Widget Context 30K+ · 4.5★ (98) wp.org #1 ↑7 1 too high 3 D Duplicate Menu 100K+ · 4.6★ (104) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too low 4 Core Framework 10K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #3 ↓2 1 too high 5 Safe Redirect Manager 40K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 D Database Collation Fix 1K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420) wp.org #14 ↓9 7 too low 8 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #11 ↑4 3 too low 9 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 Embed Any Document – Embed PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel Files 50K+ · 4.2★ (92) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included 40K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #18 ↓2 7 too low 12 Import Export Menu 3K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #6 ↑1 6 too high 13 DK PDF – WordPress PDF Generator 3K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too low 14 Export WordPress Pages to Static HTML & PDF — Static Site Export 4K+ · 3.8★ (51) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 FileBird Document Library 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #9 ↑2 6 too high 16 Rearrange Products for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Init Embed Posts – Stylish, Fast, Portable 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓2 13 too high 18 Post My CF7 Form 2K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 EZ Downloader – Plugin & Theme 90+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Sitelinks Search Box 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 WPZOOM Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓4 4 too high 22 MRW Simplified Editor 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Static Porter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 Device Detector 500+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.