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

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 “postviews”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 2 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

myCred Amelia – Gamification with Events & Appointments Booking shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 4225 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 Post Views Counter 200K+ · 4.9★ (1229) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP-PostViews 100K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 FG Joomla to WordPress 7K+ · 4.7★ (335) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Post View Count 4K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4225) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too low 6 Recently 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Remoji – Post/Comment Reaction and Enhancement 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 W WPJAM Basic 4K+ · 3.8★ (32) wp.org #8 9 简数采集器 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 A AJAX Hits Counter + Popular Posts Widget 900+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #22 ↓1 12 too low 11 Video Blogster Lite 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Post Count Tracker 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 13 PostViews Insights — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Init Embed Posts – Stylish, Fast, Portable 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 Floating Related Posts by Views or Publish Date — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too high 16 Post Views Stats Counter 600+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 CodeFaeries Views Metrics — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 Advanced Views Counter – Post Views Counter Analytics & Popular Posts Tracker 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 myCred Addons – Ultimate myCred Modules To Support WordPress Gamification and Loyalty Rewards 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Mostify — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Post Views Counter – Lumo View Pulse — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Popular Posts Views — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 P Post Views for WP 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 myCred Amelia – Gamification with Events & Appointments Booking 40+ · 1.7★ (3) wp.org #11 13 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.