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

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 “pwa”, 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

The Menu: Custom mobile navigation with icons shows at wp.org #17 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 400+ 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

Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 142 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 20K+ · 4.6★ (230) wp.org #1 2 PWA — easy way to Progressive Web App 1K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #2 3 Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 PWA 20K+ · 4.3★ (27) wp.org #4 5 Hyper PWA – Bringing Modern Progressive Web App Experiences 300+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Push Notification for Post and BuddyPress 200+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 Add to Home Screen & Progressive Web App 1K+ · 3.7★ (25) wp.org #8 9 Perfecty Push Notifications 3K+ · 4.6★ (42) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Event Tickets with Ticket Scanner 1K+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Hippoo Mobile App for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Progressify – All-in-One Progressive Web App (PWA) 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Push Notifications for WP – Self Hosted Web Push Notifications 6K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 SORTD 40+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 WhoKnew Signal – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications & PWA 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑2 6 too high 16 A Add To Home Screen on iOS and PWA 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 PushAI – Self-Hosted Web Push Notifications 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 EzzyJohn App-Style Mobile Navigation 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Swift PWA 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Forma Favicon 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 Progressive Web App (PWA) for WordPress – Offline & Add to Home Screen by miTT — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 SiteEase Progressive Web App 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Progressive Web App – PWA, Web Push Notifications and Offline Mode — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 The Menu: Custom mobile navigation with icons 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.