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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “print link”

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 “print link”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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.

W

Ranked above its merit

WP Print Friendly shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 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 WP-Print 8K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #3 4 Print My Blog – Print, PDF, & eBook Converter WordPress Plugin 8K+ · 4.8★ (115) wp.org #4 5 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 WebToffee WooCommerce PDF Invoices, Packing Slips, Delivery Notes & Shipping Labels 50K+ · 4.9★ (285) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Print, PDF & Email by PrintFriendly 20K+ · 3.8★ (237) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 PDF & Print by BestWebSoft – WordPress Posts and Pages PDF Generator Plugin 9K+ · 3.9★ (102) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Barcode Generator: Print Product Labels & Order Barcode Label (A4, Thermal/Roll, Letter) 900+ · 4.5★ (74) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57) wp.org #20 ↓6 4 too low 17 Hoplix Integration for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Real3D Flipbook – 3D Flipbook, PDF Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 10K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 3D Print Pricing Calculator 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓4 20 VK All in One Expansion Unit 100K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21 eBook Crafter – Convert Posts to PDF eBooks, Ready to Print 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 WDOnline Print All for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑6 4 too high 23 W WP Print Friendly 500+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 Print PDF Generator and Publisher 40+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.