Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “radio”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Radio Buttons and Swatches for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ 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

Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1056 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 WPC Variations Radio Buttons for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 Radio Station by netmix® – Manage and play your Show Schedule in WordPress! 1K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 MP3 Audio Player – Music Player, Podcast Player & Radio by Sonaar 20K+ · 4.8★ (302) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #11 ↑8 6 too low 6 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #17 ↑3 11 too low 7 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #14 ↑3 7 too low 8 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #20 ↓2 12 too low 9 Select All Categories and Taxonomies, Change Checkbox to Radio Buttons 3K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Radio Buttons for Taxonomies 20K+ · 5.0★ (50) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11 Radio Player Page 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 ↓1 8 too high 12 Checkout Field Manager (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.5★ (784) wp.org #23 ↓10 11 too low 13 Cost Calculator Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (393) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Quran Radio 90+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) wp.org #18 ↑4 3 too low 16 StreamCast – bring live radio to your site with a sleek player 1K+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 AjaxPress – SPA & Ajax Navigation with Persistent Audio Player for Radio 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Variation Dropdown to Radio Buttons for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 9 too high 19 Snow Monkey Forms 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 Shoutcast Icecast HTML5 Radio Player 900+ · 2.8★ (16) wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too high 21 FnF.FM Radio 10+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Radio Buttons and Swatches for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 Serverless Radio 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓3 4 too high 24 Radio Browser Stations 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 12 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.