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

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 “reactivate”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 6 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

Worldline Online Checkout shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ 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

SureCart – Ecommerce Made Easy For Selling Physical Products, Digital Downloads, Subscriptions, Donations, & Payments places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 288 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Database Reset 10K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Repeat Order for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Media Library Folders 10K+ · 4.3★ (465) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 WP Database Reset 5K+ · 4.5★ (68) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 SureCart – Ecommerce Made Easy For Selling Physical Products, Digital Downloads, Subscriptions, Donations, & Payments 80K+ · 4.8★ (288) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Include Klaviyo for Elementor pro 2K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Plugin Detective – Troubleshooting Conflicts 5K+ · 4.0★ (49) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Subscriptions for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (180) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Module Control for Jetpack 1K+ · 4.8★ (11) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Forumax – AI Powered Advanced Community Forum Plugin 500+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 Layout Recompiler for Brizy 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Database Reset Pro – Clean & Reset WordPress Database 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 GatewayAPI 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 Worldline Online Checkout 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 GRO 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Novalnet Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Blogify-AI 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Password for WP 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 WebEquipe Spin & Win Wheel 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Remind me to change my password 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Wonderful Fatal Circuit Breaker 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 ePay Payment Solutions – EPIC 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.