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← Rankings

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

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 “portions”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

ShinyStat Analytics shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ 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

Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 85 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #1 2 Timed Content 5K+ · 4.6★ (41) wp.org #2 3 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 Image Regenerate & Select Crop 7K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #4 5 RSS Includes Pages 10K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 U Upload Larger Plugins 6K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 s2Member – Excellent for All Kinds of Memberships, Content Restriction Paywalls & Member Access Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.1★ (234) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Edit Author Slug 100K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin 6K+ · 5.0★ (85) wp.org #17 ↓1 8 too low 10 Disable Blog 20K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Photo Gallery by Re Gallery: Responsive Image Gallery with AI SEO 700+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too low 12 U Use Administrator Password 800+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Accessibility Tools & Alt Text Finder 3K+ · 4.9★ (69) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Special Text Boxes 1K+ · 3.4★ (21) wp.org #7 ↓1 7 too high 15 TWIPLA – Website Intelligence 800+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 PiWeb Disable payment method / Partial payment for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Antideo Email Validator 700+ · 3.5★ (14) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Video Background Block – Add Stunning Video Backgrounds to Any Section 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 N No Weak Passwords 400+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↑2 7 too high 20 A Add Email Signature 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Tax‑Proof Coupons for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 22 ShinyStat Analytics 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 ClipCloud – Image Generation 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too high 24 WP Seasons 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.