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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “recipe maker”

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 “recipe maker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 3 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

Tasty Recipes Lite – WordPress Recipe Card Plugin with Built-In Recipe Schema shows at wp.org #3 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 2K+ 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

Formidable Forms – WordPress Form Builder for Contact Forms, Calculators, Quizzes & More places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 1383 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 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (354) wp.org #1 2 Recipe Card Blocks Lite 10K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #2 3 Cooked – Recipe Management 3K+ · 3.9★ (90) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WPSSO Core – Complete Schema Markup and Meta Tags 4K+ · 4.6★ (306) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included 40K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (26) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 WP Ultimate Post Grid 4K+ · 4.4★ (32) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms 20K+ · 4.4★ (433) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Formidable Forms – WordPress Form Builder for Contact Forms, Calculators, Quizzes & More 300K+ · 4.8★ (1383) wp.org #20 ↓1 11 too low 10 Simple Newsletter Plugin – Noptin 10K+ · 4.5★ (119) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Tasty Recipes Lite – WordPress Recipe Card Plugin with Built-In Recipe Schema 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 9 too high 13 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Spillt Recipe Plugin 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Slickstream: Engagement and Conversions 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #15 16 NHR Advanced Options Table Manager & Autoload Optimizer 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Mortar for Bricks Builder 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 18 PressPrimer Quiz – AI Quiz Maker, Exam Builder & LMS Assessment Plugin 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 19 AI Story Maker 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 BrainyPress 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 Recipe Master — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Plugixa Recipe — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Phynite Analytics 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Food Info Nutrition Labels — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.