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

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 “rar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

KindPixels PDF Gallery – Turn Files into Clean Galleries shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 40+ 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

All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 542 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #1 2 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #2 3 Advanced File Manager – Ultimate File Manager for WordPress And Document Library Solution 100K+ · 4.8★ (441) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 File Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (202) wp.org #4 5 B BSK PDF Manager 7K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 All-in-one Sticky Floating Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, and 50+ Social Icon Tabs – My Sticky Elements 40K+ · 4.9★ (542) wp.org #19 13 too low 7 M MimeTypes Link Icons 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Easy Media Download 8K+ · 4.0★ (28) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #9 10 Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading 9K+ · 4.9★ (120) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 WPYog Documents 100+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Restrict WP Upload Type 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Cleanup Orphan Images 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 BuddyPress Message Attachment 200+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Ultimate Downloadable Products for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Outreachboard — · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Projectopia – Project Management Tool 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Storage for Woo via S3-Compatible 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Pro Mime Types – Manage file media types 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Storage for EDD via S3-Compatible 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 KindPixels PDF Gallery – Turn Files into Clean Galleries 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 10 too high 23 I-Soft File Manager: Foundation — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 File Manager, Code Editor, and Backup by Managefy 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.