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

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 “promo”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Header Promo – grab attention with a top bar announcement shows at wp.org #1 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 612 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Coupon X – Discount Popups, Promo Codes Pop Ups for WooCommerce & Announcement Popups 1K+ · 4.9★ (52) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart 70K+ · 4.9★ (453) wp.org #6 ↓2 4 too low 3 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Music Player for Elementor – Audio Player & Podcast Player 10K+ · 4.7★ (123) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Announcer – Sticky Message Banner & Notification Bar 10K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #9 10 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #13 ↑6 3 too low 11 ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 Tawk.To Live Chat 100K+ · 4.6★ (142) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 Advanced Coupons for WooCommerce – BOGO, Store Credit & WooCommerce Coupons 20K+ · 4.4★ (184) wp.org #17 ↑3 4 too low 14 HashBar – Announcement, Notification Bar & Popup Campaign 9K+ · 4.2★ (38) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Header Promo – grab attention with a top bar announcement 400+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #1 ↑1 14 too high 16 Interactive Promo 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 13 too high 17 Products Suggestions for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #23 ↓3 6 too low 18 DMC Promo Banner – Sale Notifications & Announcement Bar 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↑1 14 too high 19 WP Eventbrite Embedded Checkout – Ticket Checkout Block, Popup & Elementor Widget 700+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓5 1 too low 21 PromoTimer – Flash Sale Scheduler for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Seguros Promo 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 Tabby Checkout 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 Typing Text 500+ · 2.8★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓2 5 too high

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.