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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “publisher code”

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 “publisher code”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Reportaj ADS Publisher shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3236 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 GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #1 2 Missed Scheduled Posts Publisher by WPBeginner 20K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too low 5 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #12 ↑2 7 too low 6 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too low 7 Missed Schedule Post Publisher 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Podlove Podcast Publisher 3K+ · 4.3★ (45) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #23 13 too low 11 SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #19 ↑1 8 too low 12 Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 Issues and Series for Newspapers, Magazines, Publishers, Writers 2K+ · 4.5★ (73) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 PopCash Code Integration Tool 300+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 AppMySite – WordPress & WooCommerce Mobile App Builder (No-Code Android & iOS App Maker) 7K+ · 4.3★ (138) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 HTML Page Publisher 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #22 ↑1 5 too low 18 BeyondWords – AI audio for publishers 800+ · 3.6★ (27) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Peak Publisher 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Narrative Publisher 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Multi Site Post Publisher 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Content Publisher for Confluence – Sync & Embed pages 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Reportaj ADS Publisher 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 13 too high 24 W Wext Static Publisher 10+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.