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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “project description”

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 “project description”, 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

Portfolio Block – The Ultimate Project & Portfolio Builder shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation places #5 on merit, 4.8★ from 1940 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 Project Manager – AI Powered Project Management, Task Management, Kanban Board & Time Tracker 5K+ · 3.8★ (187) wp.org #1 2 Zephyr Project Manager 1K+ · 4.8★ (98) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #3 4 FluentBoards – Project Management, Task Management, Goal Tracking, Kanban Board, and, Team Collaboration 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Translate WordPress with Weglot 2.0 – Multilingual AI Translation 50K+ · 4.8★ (1940) wp.org #17 12 too low 6 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 LazyTasks – Project & Task Management with Collaboration, Kanban and Gantt Chart 90+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 UpStream: a Project Management Plugin for WordPress 500+ · 4.2★ (74) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 WC – APG NIF/CIF/NIE Field 10K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Radius Portfolio – Filterable Grid, Gallery & Slider Portfolio 7K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Taskbuilder – Project Management & Task Management Tool With Kanban Board 700+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Projectopia – Project Management Tool 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 WP-CRM System – Manage Clients and Projects 700+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Project Showcase – Responsive Portfolio, Case Studies & Filterable Grid Layouts 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Project Pages – Portfolio Template, Portfolio Maker, Work Context Explorer! 30+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 Portfolio Block – The Ultimate Project & Portfolio Builder 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 17 too high 24 WPZOOM Portfolio Lite – Filterable Portfolio Plugin 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.