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← Rankings

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

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 “programming”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

Snow Monkey Blocks shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Iptanus File Upload places #8 on merit, 4.4★ from 117 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting 10K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Simple Login Captcha 10K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Landingi Landing Pages 2K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #5 ↓2 6 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #12 ↓3 5 too low 8 Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Stickers for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 WPComplete 1K+ · 4.1★ (43) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 Gantry 5 Framework 7K+ · 4.6★ (34) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Form data to kintone 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too high 13 Enlighter – Customizable Syntax Highlighter 10K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14 Publish To Apple News 4K+ · 3.8★ (25) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too high 15 Syntax-highlighting Code Block (with Server-side Rendering) 1K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 E2Pdf – Export Pdf Tool for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #16 17 Snow Monkey Blocks 30K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 S Surbma | Smooth Scroll 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too low 19 WP-Yomigana 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20 WP All Export – Order Export for WooCommerce 3K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Add to Cart Text Changer and Customize Button, Add Custom Icon 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too high 22 WP All Export – User Export Add-On 6K+ · 3.6★ (7) wp.org #22 23 Tab Ultimate 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Masonry Gallery & Posts For Divi (WP Tools) 700+ · 2.8★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓4

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.