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

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 “red”, 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

Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 80K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.1★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Quiz Maker by AYS places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 601 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #1 2 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #2 3 Redirection 100K+ · 5.0★ (419) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 PW WooCommerce Bulk Edit 20K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Connect Polylang for Elementor 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #5 ↓2 6 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 Progress Bar 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Simple Shopping Cart 10K+ · 4.6★ (215) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Server IP & Memory Usage Display 20K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 WP-Memory-Usage 10K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 WPML to Polylang 5K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) wp.org #21 ↓3 9 too low 13 BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too low 15 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16 Variations as Single Product – Display Single Variation for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Plugins Condition & Site Check 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 Free WooCommerce Products Slider/Carousel Pro 2K+ · 4.7★ (17) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Page View Count 10K+ · 4.0★ (55) wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Simple YouTube Embed 4K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 WCBoost – Variation Swatches 40K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 Pattern CSS – The CSS Editor For Blocks 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Shortcodes and extra features for Phlox theme 80K+ · 2.1★ (7) wp.org #12 12 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.