wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “profile pic”

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 “profile pic”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 8 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

Photo roll shows at wp.org #15 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WP Plugin Info Card – Showcase Beautiful Plugin, Theme, and GitHub Cards Anywhere 400+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303) wp.org #5 3 too low 3

rtMedia for WordPress, BuddyPress and bbPress 7K+ · 3.7★ (152) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 3 too low 4

Dynamic User Directory 1K+ · 4.8★ (38) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 3 too low 5

Local Profile Pics 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #1 4 too high 6

Cloud SAML SSO – Single Sign On Login 80+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #3 3 too high 7

BP Birthday Greetings 200+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #11 4 too low 8

Rapls PDF Image Creator – PDF Thumbnails & Featured Images 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #8 9

Ultimate Member – Online Users 3K+ · 4.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #4 5 too high 10 U User-dashboard 20+ · 4.7★ (3) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 10 too low 11

Partyline: Reader-Submitted Stories for Local News and Magazines 40+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #10 1 too high 12

Wax Store Catalog — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #12 13

Google+ Follow Box 60+ · 4.0★ (4) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14

JNE Shipping – Plugin Ongkos Kirim Resmi Untuk WooCommerce 90+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #9 5 too high 15

Manage User Avatar 30+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 U UniLMS 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 U User Profile Pic 40+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18

Last 9 Photos – WebComponent 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19

TheONE Expert Profile Embed 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20

WPMyAvatar 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 D Draugiem.lv Pase 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 22

Photo roll 80+ · 3.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 S Show your Support — · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #23 24 T TipMeWP — · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews 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.