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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “release notes”

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 “release notes”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

CBX Changelog & Release Note shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Print Invoice & Delivery Notes for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.4★ (140) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WP Dashboard Notes 20K+ · 4.6★ (110) wp.org #3 4 Plugin Notes Plus 9K+ · 5.0★ (62) wp.org #4 5 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #19 ↑1 13 too low 7 User Notes 800+ · 4.8★ (15) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Changeloger – Changelog, Release Notes, Roadmap & Feature Requests 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 WPGraphQL 30K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #21 ↓2 11 too low 11 Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 KeepInMind Dashboard Notes 300+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 D Dashboard Notes 500+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 OpenStation – Admin Dashboard Notes, Custom Dashboard, AI Assistant & PWA 1K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Simple Post Notes 9K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #15 16 JAMP Notes (Just Another Memo Plugin) 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Gutenberg 400K+ · 2.1★ (3888) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Product Notes Tab & Private Admin Notes for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 CBX Changelog & Release Note 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Customer Notes for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 WPGraphQL Smart Cache 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Site Notes: Site Feedback, Site Notes with Sitewide Visual Commenting 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 RD Order Note Templates for WooCommerce 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 WP-Note 2019 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.