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

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 “redact”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 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 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

Olark Live Chat shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 BitFire Security – Firewall, Malware Scanner, Bot Blocker, Login Protection 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 DiveWP – Boost Site Performance with Clear, Actionable Steps 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 E Eyes Only 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Who Changed It? – Activity Log & Audit Trail 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 DevDome Malware Scanner – WordPress Malware Removal & Security Scanner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Smalk AI Analytics 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Redact Tools for Discord – Timestamp Generator & Account Age Checker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Kodlo Product Gallery for Elementor 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 Redact — Blackout & Erasure Poetry — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Profound Agent Analytics 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 AuthenticSender 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 Signclave – SSO for SAML and LDAP — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑4 1 too high 13 S SeoulCommerce Payment Gateway for TossPayments 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too high 14 VaaniLog — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 HaruDigi Booking Abilities for Amelia and Easy MCP AI — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 API Request Monitor: Monitor Incoming & Outgoing API Requests and Manage Webhooks — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 A Arbyte Structured Logging for Seq — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 AiutoComputerHelp Persistence Audit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 PayCools Payments — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Secure Login Collector — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 WPG Site Doctor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Check System Details — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Olark Live Chat 1K+ · 2.5★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓3 8 too high 24 Foxry Vault — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.