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

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 “referencement”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 19. 5 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

eewee twitter card shows at wp.org #14 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Checklist Opquast Qualité Web 100+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #1 2

Securicheck – Audit et Sécurité WordPress 60+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #2 3

ContentSide Semantic Platform 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 4

Trouverunemesse — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #4 5

JobPass 20+ · 5.0★ (3) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 5 too low 6

Kulturae Agenda – Agenda d'événements culturels — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #5 1 too high 7

SemLinks — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #6 1 too high 8

SAM Optirank — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #7 1 too high 9

MAGNETIS Call-tracking 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #9 10

AlT Multiduplicator — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 3 too low 11

Savage Note 30+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #8 3 too high 12

p3x actualité web 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #12 13 F Feed SEO 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 C Canalblog Importer 20+ · 3.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #11 3 too high 15 L Language-based Comment Spam Condom 30+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Y YD *FAST* Page update 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #19 3 too low 17

eewee popup — · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18

eewee twitter hovercard — · 3.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 3 too high 19

eewee twitter card 10+ · 3.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 5 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.