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

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 “pte”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Disable Flamingo Addressbook shows at wp.org #1 but places #5 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 4K+ 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

Asgaros Forum places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 210 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Gwolle Guestbook 20K+ · 4.8★ (113) wp.org #3 ↓2 2 too low 2 AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) 7K+ · 4.8★ (633) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 La Sentinelle antispam 3K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Super Simple Event Calendar 600+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 ↑1 2 too high 5 Disable Flamingo Addressbook 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 ↑1 4 too high 6 Asgaros Forum 10K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #23 17 too low 7 HitPay Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 AISaleBot — · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Kabook PTE Project Monitor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Amathia: Accessible Dropdown Menus 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Email Users on Update of Download for Easy Digital Downloads 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Gutenberg Block Toolkit – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Loginpetze 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 User Admin Purchases Column for Easy Digital Downloads — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Integrate OSM with WP Job Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Amoos Functionality Suite 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Web Insights by Codengine — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 UQPAY Payment Gateway for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 Dovetailed FrontDesk Launcher — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 A AI Provider for ZenMUX — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 Breezy AI Search — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Finmo Payments — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23 Yatoon Social Feed — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 NettoProfit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.