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

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 “psd”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 2 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

Booking Calendar Contact Form shows at wp.org #9 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.6★ average from 32 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 1233 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (524) wp.org #1 2 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 FileBird Document Library 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 CP Media Player – Audio Player and Video Player 3K+ · 4.4★ (46) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP 10K+ · 4.9★ (1233) wp.org #14 9 too low 6 M MimeTypes Link Icons 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #6 7 CatFolders Document Gallery & PDF Library 3K+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Live Composer – Free WordPress Website Builder 10K+ · 4.4★ (212) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading 9K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 StockPack – Stock photos and AI images from Unsplash, Adobe Stock, Freepik and more 7K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Appointment Booking Calendar 1K+ · 4.2★ (92) wp.org #11 12 Prevent Files / Folders Access 1K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Booking Calendar Contact Form 500+ · 3.6★ (32) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Music Store – WordPress eCommerce 200+ · 4.1★ (52) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 Interactive Polish Map 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 Custom Fields Account Registration For Woocommerce 700+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Music Store – Stripe Add On 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 R Rocket Media Library Mime Type 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 PSD Price Table for Elementor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 SudoMock Product Customizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Nexura Upload Limits Manager – Increase Maximum Upload File Size 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too low 22 I Imganva SEO Images — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Load More Posts 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 CP Image Store with Slideshow 10+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.