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

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 “prettier”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

SMTP for Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #4 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

FakerPress places #4 on merit, 4.9★ from 205 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #1 2 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140) wp.org #16 13 too low 4 FakerPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (205) wp.org #21 17 too low 5 Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin 50K+ · 3.8★ (397) wp.org #17 12 too low 6 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #20 14 too low 7 Protected Video 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Magical Blocks – Elementor Style Blocks for Gutenberg 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 Text Hover 1K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 Auto Release Posts for GitHub — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Popular Brand Icons – Simple Icons 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Pixi Contact Form For Elementor 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 WebDig.DEV Analytics 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Circle Progress Bar Block 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 Decouplix Previews & Smart Purge — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Simple Analytics 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Pretty Alert — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 Animate In View 1K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 3 360 Digital Marketing SEO Analyzer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Georg-Kloster Calendar Workshop — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 BlockXpert — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Animated Headline Elementor 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 ele Hover Addon 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.