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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “preferred source”

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 “preferred source”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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.

Ranked above its merit

AI Summarize Buttons & Google Preferred Source shows at wp.org #4 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 775 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 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WPZOOM Connect: Social Icons Widget & Block, Share Buttons & Click to Chat 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Add as Preferred Source on Google 800+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #5 6 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Dark Mode – Improve Accessibility with AI Powered Dark Theme 20K+ · 4.5★ (391) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #17 ↓2 8 too low 10 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #14 ↑3 4 too low 11 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #18 ↓2 7 too low 12 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #16 ↑8 4 too low 13 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #19 ↓5 6 too low 14 AI Summarize Buttons & Google Preferred Source 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 Share Buttons & AI-powered Summaries 1K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 reSmush.it : The original free image compressor and optimizer plugin 100K+ · 4.3★ (166) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 OGEEAT 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 External files in Media Library 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 SourceCue Button for Google Preferred Sources 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles 4K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓5 3 too low 21 CraftPost Preferred Sources 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Tutor LMS BunnyNet Integration 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 23 KudoMetrics Google Preferred Sources Button – 40+ Custom Styles 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too high 24 SEO Content Publisher for 8ight.ai 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.