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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rel attribute”

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 “rel attribute”, we and wp.org disagree 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

Extend Link shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ 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.

Buried gem

MaxButtons – Create buttons places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1093 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 80K+ · 4.3★ (247) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #3 ↑4 1 too low 3 R Rel Nofollow 700+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Bootstrap Blocks 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 My Sticky Bar – Floating Notification Bar & Sticky Header (formerly myStickymenu) 100K+ · 4.9★ (1199) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 Logo Slider – Logo Showcase, Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery and Client Logo Presentation 30K+ · 4.7★ (252) wp.org #14 ↑3 7 too low 8 MaxButtons – Create buttons 70K+ · 4.9★ (1093) wp.org #21 ↑3 13 too low 9 Button Block – Stylish buttons that get more clicks 5K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 too high 10 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #19 ↓1 9 too low 11 Premmerce Permalink Manager for WooCommerce 40K+ · 3.9★ (53) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 Lightbox & Modal Popup WordPress Plugin – FooBox 100K+ · 3.9★ (95) wp.org #12 13 forumAttachments for bbPress 6K+ · 4.3★ (26) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 GAinWP Google Analytics Integration for WP 7K+ · 4.8★ (126) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Simple Comment Editing 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Easy Media Download 8K+ · 4.0★ (28) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Easy Video Player 20K+ · 4.2★ (57) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too low 18 Leaving Notice Popup For External Links – nofollow, noopener & New Tab 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓3 11 too high 19 FV Simpler SEO 2K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #18 ↑3 1 too high 20 WP Login Form 7K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 SU Blocks – Blogcard 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑3 5 too high 22 Image Prioritizer 40K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 13 too high 23 Extend Link 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑3 7 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.