Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “publicity”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 18. 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Publicity Expert Marketplace Vendor Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #1 2 P Publicity Expert AI Salesman — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 3 P Publicity Expert — AI Growth Engine — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 4 Content Visibility — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 5 MiraQlum Image Optimizer 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 WPHostee Competitions for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 DefendWP Firewall 3K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 8 E Events Ads Banner 10+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Report Bad Buyers and Screen New Ones 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 WP Replace Unlicensed and Broken Images 10+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Feed KuantoKusta for WooCommerce – Free 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Advanced ads Management by Inazo 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Fragmentions — · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 S Search by Tags 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 15 C Content for your Country 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 16 C CP Import — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 E Embargo Press Release — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 B Berri Personalized Care — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18

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.