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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “recreate image”

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 “recreate image”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Shrinkwell Image Optimizer shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 20+ 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

GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 716 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1843) wp.org #1 2 A AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild 30K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #3 4 Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 BerqWP – All-In-One Optimization for Core Web Vitals, Cache, CDN, Images, CSS & JavaScript 4K+ · 4.3★ (54) wp.org #4 ↓2 2 too high 7 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – RexFeed – Sell on 200+ Shopping Channels 10K+ · 4.8★ (256) wp.org #16 ↑2 9 too low 8 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #23 ↓2 15 too low 9 Rename Media Files: Improve Your SEO 8K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #19 ↓4 10 too low 10 Post Type Transfer 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12 Custom Post Type WooCommerce Integration – Sell Any CPT with WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #21 ↓2 9 too low 13 CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #24 ↓4 11 too low 14 PDF Forms Filler for CF7 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #20 ↓3 6 too low 15 SurveyJS: Drag & Drop Form Builder 500+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 Clone / Duplicate Orders for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 SpeedSize Image & Video AI-Optimizer 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 Shrinkwell Image Optimizer 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 12 too high 19 Meliconnect 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Mizan Demo Importer 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 Dynamic Fields Engine – Custom post types, Custom fields, Meta fields, Taxonomies, Listing builder, Query builder and Relations 3K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 WPInterface Add-ons 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too high 23 AddOnn Attribute Image Gallery for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Post/Page Import Export – Migrate Content with Custom Fields & Taxonomies 400+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 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.