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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “re attach”

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 “re attach”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

GPX Route Map shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 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 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) wp.org #1 2 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #2 3 GravityExport Lite for Gravity Forms 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #3 4 NextScripts: Social Networks Auto-Poster 20K+ · 3.3★ (617) wp.org #4 5 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Media File Renamer: Rename Images & Files for SEO (AI-Powered) 40K+ · 4.6★ (447) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #13 ↑4 6 too low 8 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #10 ↑2 2 too low 9 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #14 ↓5 5 too low 10 CMB2 300K+ · 5.0★ (91) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Auto Upload Images 20K+ · 4.3★ (106) wp.org #11 12 Website LLMs.txt 50K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too low 15 Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 GPX Route Map 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 9 too high 17 P Post Comments as bbPress Topics 300+ · 4.3★ (18) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Serial Codes Generator and Validator with WooCommerce Support 700+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 Majestic Support – The Leading-Edge Help Desk & Customer Support Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 WP Smart Import : Import any XML File to WordPress 900+ · 3.9★ (12) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too high 21 PDF for WPForms + Drag and Drop Template Builder 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22 PDF for Gravity Forms + Drag And Drop Template Builder 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 Mass Email To Users 800+ · 3.1★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Unattached Media Manager 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.