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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “press about”

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 “press about”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

ShopPress – Shop Builder for Elementor and WooCommerce shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 600+ 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

Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 1148 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #1 2 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 GDPRess | Eliminate external requests to increase GDPR compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (398) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (808) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Use Any Font | Custom Font Uploader 200K+ · 4.7★ (1148) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Same Category Posts 3K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Podcast Importer SecondLine 4K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Nooz 500+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 ShopPress – Shop Builder for Elementor and WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 16 too high 20 Press Release Distribution 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 16 too high 21 Press Release 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Category Archives Block 900+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 WPC Sticky Add To Cart for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Import Shopify To WP 900+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 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.