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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “private notes”

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 “private notes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 4 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

Private Website – Login Required shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ 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

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Dashboard Notes 20K+ · 4.6★ (110) wp.org #1 2 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 User Notes 800+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #3 4 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #4 5 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #16 ↓1 10 too low 7 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #19 ↑2 9 too low 11 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 KeepInMind Dashboard Notes 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #22 ↓4 9 too low 14 Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #20 ↓3 4 too low 17 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18 Private Google Calendars 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Essential Real Estate 7K+ · 4.3★ (52) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Frontend User Notes 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑1 10 too high 21 RD Order Note Templates for WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too high 22 Private Website – Login Required 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 14 too high 23 Private User Notes 100+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 Zotero Notes 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.