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

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 “reading”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 2 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

Bible Reading Plans shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ 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

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 155 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Reading Time WP 20K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #1 2 Reading progressbar 6K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #2 3 Reading Position Indicator 800+ · 5.0★ (66) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WP Reading Progress 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar 10K+ · 4.5★ (19) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #12 ↓3 4 too low 9 Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) wp.org #17 ↑7 8 too low 10 Tarot, Oracle cards, Tarot readings, Tarokina 300+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #22 ↓2 11 too low 12 AccessiYes Accessibility Widget for ADA, EAA & WCAG Readiness 20K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 U Unique Headers 10K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #23 ↓7 9 too low 15 Worth The Read 3K+ · 4.3★ (27) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 WP Robots Txt 40K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 Website LLMs.txt 50K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too high 18 Reading Time 200+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 11 too high 19 Bible Reading Plans 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑1 13 too high 20 Init Reading Position – Remember, Return, Continue 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 11 too high 21 Daily Readings 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 too high 22 Sam Reading Time 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23 MinuteRead – Reading Time for Posts 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Font Resize With Post Reading Time [GWE] 80+ · 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.