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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pull to refresh”

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 “pull to refresh”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

Random Post on Refresh shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 565 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Force Refresh 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #1 2 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Merge + Minify + Refresh 3K+ · 4.2★ (68) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #4 5 Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125) wp.org #5 6 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 10K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #7 8 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Better Click To Share – Shareable Quote Boxes for X (Twitter) 6K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Contextual Related Posts 50K+ · 4.8★ (201) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Statify 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Add to Home Screen & Progressive Web App 1K+ · 3.7★ (25) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Image Refresh 900+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Random Post on Refresh 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Tripzzy – Travel Engine System 100+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Progressify – All-in-One Progressive Web App (PWA) 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 F FameTheme Demo Importer 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.