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

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 “punctuation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Consistency – Typography Corrector for Gutenberg shows at wp.org #9 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 70+ 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

Tabby Responsive Tabs places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2 Export Media URLs 7K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 JSM Non-Breaking Space (nbsp) for French Content 1K+ · 4.6★ (15) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 BEA – Sanitize Filename 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 ↓1 2 too high 5 Tabby Responsive Tabs 10K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #13 ↓3 8 too low 6 WP Spell Check 2K+ · 2.9★ (39) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Editoria11y Accessibility Checker 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 8 WProofreader spell & grammar check plugin for WordPress 4K+ · 3.7★ (15) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 Search & Replace Text in Blocks 100+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 Proofreading 5K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too low 11 BrainyPress 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 MrSeokar Inline Related Products for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 The Off Switch (formerly WP Avoid Slow) 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓2 9 too low 14 Consistency – Typography Corrector for Gutenberg 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓3 5 too high 15 Reference Manager for WordPress with Footnotes, Citations, Bibliographies, Tooltips and Glossary 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓3 4 too low 16 MWR Hit Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Tansa 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too low 18 Bloqcode Chile – RUT and Checkout Validation 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too high 19 Lineate — Poetry Blocks 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too low 20 Tranzly™ – AI Translation & Multilingual 7K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21 Certloom – Certificate Verification 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑6 4 too high 22 Negaresh 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 AOS Comment Spam Cleanup 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓7 2 too high 24 Altify AI – Auto ALT Text Generator 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓5

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.